Attack On Dragon
by Fortiques
Summary: In a world where humans are cornered by both titans and dragons, the Wings of Freedom is the last hope for humanity. Eren Jaeger and his friends aspire to become soldiers, defenders of Isle Maria. The only problem is; Eren can't kill a single dragon. Attack On Titan set in the HTTYD world with twists and surprises. HTTYD plot with SNK characters. Details inside.
1. Prologue - This Is Maria

Twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death, is the location of a cluster of large isles. These are the Isles of Maria. They harbour what is assumed to be the last of mankind, as man-eating monsters known as titans brought them close to extinction. To escape these nightmares of the mainland, the ten-thousand or so humans fled to the ocean and sailed in steamboats where the titans could not follow. They found the isles and made settlements there. And soon, after seven generations, a small thriving town survived. The humans worked together, making plans in which to fight back against titans and wipe them off the face of the Earth. However, another group of strange and advanced creatures existed in this world, and visited the Isles of Maria very often, much to the dismay of the humans. They were known as the dragons.

Four-legged beasts, covered in a soft downy fur and armed with huge talons and colossal feathered wings, stood taller than any human on average. Their sizes and shapes varied somewhat as did their colour pallets, but if you were to imagine one, you would see a slender creature with feathered feet and a long neck. The head is oval shaped and dons two long pointed ears that often give away what the beast is thinking. They harbour two more sets of 'wings'; a pair at the base of the tail, behind the hind legs and a final pair at the end of the tail. This particular pair help control the steering in flight and will be an important aspect later in the story. Speaking of flight, these dragons are masters of it, and no one is more in danger then when facing one ten or so metres above ground.

The dragons were considered not much better than titans by the humans, as every now and then, a horde of them would invade the town at night and attack. The first time it happened, nearly a hundred people were stolen. These dragons kidnapped helpless humans and flew away with them, across the sea, lost forever. The humans tried desperately to save their own, and sailed after the dragons in hopes of rescuing them. But the dragons vanished into a fog, infested with jagged rocks that shredded the boats as the dragons picked off more and more humans for the taking. The humans had no choice but to retreat, and leave the dragons' nest in peace.

It may have seemed bleak for humanity; titans on the mainland, dragons on the isles. But the humans were clever and determined not to be beaten. And so, to defend against the dragons of the isles, soldiers were born and raised to fight. They wielded dual blades and fought in a complex device called 3D Manoeuvre Gear. It was the brilliant mind and the undying will of humans that allowed them to create huge workshops that would produce the gas and metal while causing minimum damage to the environment. This gear allowed the soldiers to swing and jump from house to house at speed and fire themselves into the air where the dragons roamed. There, the soldiers would be able to strike the dragons down with their swords, either instantly killing or critically injuring them. Either way, the dragon wouldn't survive. Actually hitting the dragons was another matter, however. These beasts owned the sky and quickly adapted to evade attacks and strike the soldiers down instead, leaving them disemboweled or limbs almost severed. Dragon fighting is a dangerous task. Defending the island was a job most soldiers could do. Any more work than that, and it was a job only for the best. Soldiers who proved themselves worthy formed a large, elite squad called the Wings of Freedom. Almost every soldier aspired to be one. The Wings of Freedom were the only people qualified to set sail and explore the mainland, away from the safety of the ocean. This would be to survey the area and make tactical plans to take the land back from the titans. When they weren't doing this, they were trying to infiltrate the dragons nest and destroy it in hopes of making the Isles of Maria completely safe for humans.

At some point, someone thought that it would be a good idea to capture dragons alive to study them further and then use the healthy survivors in training for the new recruits and those still learning. A special net was designed to do the job. It had three corners and was wrapped around the soldier's torso. A mechanism was added to the 3D Manoeuvre Gear that allowed the soldier to launch the net at a flying dragon and capture it. The net, though small, was enough to immobilize a dragon's wings and most of its legs, and would send it crashing to the ground. The soldier would then finish the job by making sure the dragon was secure. Long ropes still attached to the soldier on one end and the now restrained dragon on the other, would be launched to wrap tightly around the beast further to keep human injuries to an absolute minimum. After that, the capture was a success and the dragons, when not simply slaughtered, would be taken away to be examined and sent to heavily fortified stables in the forest.

A world full of titans and dragons really seems against the survival of humanity, and if it weren't for the second thoughts of a particular soldier, mankind wouldn't likely have made it.


	2. Chapter 1 - Dragon Battle

The town was in a panic. Hapless citizens ran for cover in their houses, locking doors and barricading windows. Those who weren't fast enough were snatched up and taken, talons the length of kitchen knives savagely piercing their flesh as all the humans could do was scream to be saved. A dragon raid had started soon after midnight and the monsters whistled through the air like missiles, picking humans up like their main diet, fish or shredding into the roofs of houses. Minutes after the start of the attack, the violent hissing and rapid whirring of the 3D Manoeuvre Gear screamed through the air and the island defenders flew into battle. Soldiers roared their battle cries to which the dragons responded with their own haunting cry and half a second after, blades clashed against talons. Dragons and soldiers alike dropped left and right, but many more held strong. A skilled soldier bolted head on into an oncoming dragon, determination glinted in both of their eyes. At the last possible second, before the dragon could bury its talons into the soldier's chest, the man twisted, narrowly dodging the attack just under the dragon's wing and flipped his body around. Now the dragon was vulnerable and completely at the mercy of the soldier. He opened his arms out and fired his net. The dragon, having no time to react, was hit clean and in the centre and was sent tumbling down to the ground.

Many soldiers fighting tonight were recent recruits who had been training for months. It wasn't their first raid and it certainly wasn't their last. But all the kids fought hard in hopes of being noticed by the seniors. Nothing was a greater honor than being addressed by one of the Wings of Freedom themselves, and the trainees wanted that glory like the dragons wanted them.  
These trainees were skilled and the seniors had high hopes for them. Most showed exemplary skill and passion in their work, even hints of a potential member of the Wings of Freedom. Among this group of trainees was a talented boy named Eren Jaeger. He had beautiful technique and rarely ever made any mistakes that resulted in injury to his body or damage to his gear. Though rash and headstrong, Eren was passionate and the gear he wore seemed to move like an extension of himself. Every one of his captures was like an elegant dance for those watching Jaeger, and most of them left the dragon completely unharmed. He never missed and casualties were at a minimum around him. The seniors would think about recruiting him early into the Wings of Freedom, if it wasn't for one unfortunate flaw; Eren Jaeger had the lowest kill-rate in the history of defenders. While most soldiers had already killed over thirty, some skilled ones even over fifty dragons, Eren had killed two. Despite the countless feathered beasts that had been captured under Eren's net, only a measly two had actually died under his blade, and not before being captured in his net. The boy didn't even bother to lie about his score unlike some recruits did in hopes it will work in favour for them. Eren had never fatally hit a dragon in flight ever, which was unfortunate as that is the one skill that must be mastered to become the Wings of Freedom. It is a strange rule that the Wings of Freedom have because it is actually harder to successfully capture a dragon unharmed than it is to just kill it. This baffled the seniors as when they had tested Eren they found that he really was bad at actually killing them. They sent him into the forest arena again and again, and still no dragons died before him. But when they asked him to just capture the dragons, he got a perfect score.

The soldier who did have a perfect score in killing dragons was Eren's adopted sister, Mikasa Ackerman. She had the highest score among all trainees and everyone knew that she was destined to become one of the Wings of Freedom after graduating. Eren and Mikasa were close and the only family each other had. Mikasa was not island born like Eren and was actually brought from the mainland after an expedition run by the Wings of Freedom. The soldiers had found her hiding in a decimated house after the titans had eaten her parents and took her back to the Isle of Maria where she would be safer. Eren lived with his father, the island doctor as his mother had vanished when he was a baby, and they took Mikasa in as their own. Shortly after taking her in though, there was a dragon raid and Dr. Jaeger was tragically killed. Mikasa was almost taken as well if it weren't for Eren who viciously fought off the dragon with a knife until the soldiers arrived. It wasn't a day the children would like to remember, but it was the day Mikasa couldn't help not forgetting and would then on forever feel safest around Eren. From that day forward, Mikasa promised her short-term father that she would protect Eren at all costs and be there for her brother always.

Eren grunted as he narrowly missed being savaged by a rogue talon. The dragon snarled in frustration and lunged blindly again, only to be ensnared by Eren's net. As the dragon fell, Eren finished the capture before detaching himself from the chords and darted off to the reloading station. Before he even got there, he was greeted by his friend Armin, a soldier who wasn't really cut out to kill dragons, but refused to be left behind by his friends. Eren often argued with Armin, telling him that he would be far more successful studying the dragons with the crazy seniors or even as a blacksmith, building the weapons and fixing the 3D Manoeuvre Gear. It was true that Armin was a natural genius in both those areas and he did indeed spend his spare time honing those skills, but he loyally refused to be away from his only friends for long.

"Eren! I have your net!" Armin cried, landing on a rooftop before Eren and immediately set to work reattaching the bundled capture device to his friend.

"Restocking the soldiers, I see, Armin?" Eren commented.

"Yeah," replied the blond, "restocking the defenders is crucial if we don't want to be caught out. Sometimes, your only option is to use your net,"

"I agree," said Eren, fixing the straps securely.

The boys ducked as a captured dragon sailed over their heads and crashed into a house.

"By the way, what have we got, Armin?"

"Mostly the usual!" He shouted over the deafening sound of a house collapsing, "Mainly Velxes, Lurals, oh, and hordes of Incit and Pernix Navitas!"

Eren brushed off rogue splinters of wood from his hair, "Any Falkas?"

Armin shook his head, "None so far,"

"Good."

At that moment, Mikasa landed next to the boys with a loud but controlled hiss of her gear. Her two blades were heavily stained with blood which made Eren's nose wrinkle in distaste.

"What are you two doing here?!" She demanded, "It's dangerous to stay on the rooftops, you're an easy target!"

As if on cue, a dragon classed as a Lural dived for the three of them. Eren reached for his blades, preparing himself to attack. But before he could fully unsheathe them, Mikasa had already flown up to meet the beast and struck it down immediately. Her blades made a clean cut though the soft throat of the dragon and its blood rained down on the roof. It landed heavily on the hard surface, damaging it with its weight, and lay motionless.

"I can take care of myself, Mikasa!" Eren argued, standing up to face her.

Mikasa tucked her red scarf up to her nose, "Eren, I'm just trying to keep you safe,"

Feeling emasculated, Eren gritted his teeth and was about to snap back when Armin cut in, "I think Eren can look after himself, Mikasa. He's almost never been seriously injured while fighting-"

"Jaeger Boy, looking after himself?" An obnoxious voice called out, "What about the time he was left to watch the captured dragons before dinner and then let almost all of them escape?"

The voice revealed himself to be Jean Kirstein, a formidable soldier and an arrogant rival who wound Eren up for the sake of pissing him off. Though skilled in the gear, he had much to learn about the dragons themselves and working with his own side instead of against them.

"Shut the hell up, Jean." Eren spat, "No one asked for your opinion!"

Armin sighed inwardly at the unstoppable growing tension as Mikasa looked on.

Jean smirked, "I truly don't know how you expect to join the Wings of Freedom if you can't do the one job they are asking for."

When that received no response from Eren who was clearly seething, Jean digressed, "Anyway, I came to tell you that a particularly large flock of dragons are coming around the Western cape and we better move now if we want to stop them."

With that, Jean took off, leaving the three in his expelled gas.

"Come on, we better go," Armin encouraged.

But he needn't had to, as Eren violently took off after Jean, blood pumping and temper raging. He caught up to him quickly and shouted after him.

"Jean!"

The said boy slowed slightly and looked back to show that he had heard but didn't stop. The boys darted over and around houses, flying across the whole vicinity to get to the other side. Other soldiers were visible, including Mikasa and Armin who was carrying more supplies.

"I can look after myself!" Eren continued to argue, avoiding crashing into a chimney, "And I know that I'm better than you!"

"Is that a challenge, Jaeger?" Landing on a roof only to jump off, Jean teased, flashing a smile, "Okay then, prove it. By killing a dragon."

"Easy!" Eren shouted, unaware of the mess he was getting himself into.

"Oh, and not just any old dragon," Jean continued, making Eren's smile falter slightly, "Scouts tell us that there is a single Lethal Falka in the horde. Find it, and kill it. That's your challenge."

Laughing, and before Eren could say any more on the matter, Jean took off, throwing himself upon a pair of very surprised Velxes and cutting them down. Eren looked ahead to see that the bulk of the horde had finally arrived and were already scanning for stragglers and tearing into houses. Eren, being Eren, was desperate to find that Lethal Falka as soon as he could, but that was impossible as there was a multitude of problems that called for his aid. He could hear screaming to his slight right and looked to see five Raufens breaking in to a house.

Raufens were bulky and strong, classed as heavy and aggressive. They are not the most advanced in the air but make up for it with their sheer brute strength, breaking defenses and being tough to take down. Eren dispatched of these common beasts eventually and with only one net to immobilize the beasts, he had to be clever. First, Eren attacked the wings of the five dragons, painlessly slicing off the large primary feathers that gave the dragons their flight. Now with no means of escaping for them, Eren literally crashed into one, using his legs to kick it into another and sending the two tumbling. In the instant immediately after, Eren fired his net and ensnared the two in one. Then Eren skilfully used the rest of the ropes to tie the remaining dragons together. Luckily for him, reinforcements arrived and finished the job up for him. Finally released, Eren set off again. Time was running out if he wanted to catch, no, kill the Lethal Falka. Knowing Jean, he was probably after it too in hopes of one-upping Eren and taking all the glory, anything to be noticed by the seniors.

Flying around with no net made Eren uncomfortable and the maximum damage he dared cause to the attacking monsters was nullifying their means of flight. Feathers rained down where he went, followed by dragons that had no choice but to run and climb the houses. Eventually, Eren found Armin again and obtained another net. Eren wished for a way to carry more than one but these things were heavy and to wrap them up further would make the release far too slow and the dragons would get away more often than not. Sacrifices had to be made.

Eren swung around a house and ducked, narrowly dodging a falling beam (god knows where that came from) and shot up to get to a good vantage point. He hoped to catch a glimpse of his prize but the momentary vulnerability he had put himself in made Eren an immediate target for a Velx. Velxes are in the speed and agility class and are incredibly light and thin. They are hard to hit with their skilled manoeuvring but if a soldier could keep it at bay long enough, Velxes can be tired out and struck as soon as they make a mistake. This is exactly what Eren did, dodging and twisting and flipping to avoid the fury of attacks the Velx lunged at him with. Eren tested the dragon by making a dummy move and in the process, caused the dragon to react. Seeing that the dragon was now tired out (the dodge wasn't nearly as graceful if it were refreshed) Eren gave chase, sending the dragon into a panic. Cutting the dragon off over and over again, Eren have a multitude of chances to kill the dragon, all of which were never taken. Instead, Eren waited until he was above the beast before firing his net and sending it to the ground, screeching in fear.

_Damn_, Eren thought, _I've got to stop using my nets so bloody much!_

On his way to Armin again, Eren crossed paths with an Incit and Pernix Navitas. Navitas are two sub-type dragons that fit in the stamina group, Incits being fast and Pernixes being agile. They are often seen working together as they both can keep up with each other the longest. They are the only species of dragon that are known to work together when attacking and are difficult to take down alone. Luckily, Eren had the upper hand of surprise and quickly sliced the feathers of the Incit. He had no time to watch it fall as the Pernix was upon him immediately though, and he nearly lost the skin on his chest. After a rapid session of playing cat and mouse, Eren, though now exhausted, was able to get under the dragon and slice the exposed 'middle wings' at the base of the tail.

Another type of dragon that regularly visits Maria are the Lurals. These are shorter in height than any other dragon and are skilled at climbing trees and stalking prey, hence being classed in stealth and agility.

Eren took a breather on the ground in an alley and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It was still a while before daybreak and he was already tired. Not to mention, he still had to kill that elusive Lethal Falka. A grim thought ran though his head that Jean might have set him up, but the thought didn't last a second when a fearful sound resonated through the night sky; the whistling of feathered wings streaming through the air at break-neck speed, growing stronger and louder…

"LETHAL FALKA!" Someone shrieked, "GET DOWN!"

Several soldiers were heard being hit by what sounded like a missile and were sent to the ground screaming. The Lethal Falka was here.

Heart beating like the wings of a heavy Raufen in his chest, Eren launched himself onto the rooftops and scanned the area in hopes of spotting it. The night was void of such desired sounds and was drowned out by the moans of the wounded. The Falka is among the rarest of dragon types. Classed as aggressive and fast, this monster can do colossal damage in seconds with sheer force and tactical thinking, taking out weaknesses first and knowing exactly where to cause the most catastrophic damage. There was currently one in the stables but it was a difficult capture and one many wondered if it was worth the loss. The high pitched whistling is caused by the top speed in which the Lethal Falka flies at when attacking. The only other dragon known to make this sound, and fly at this tremendous speed is the Falka's lighter cousin, the Deadly Evonna, classed in speed and stealth. The Deadly Evonna is probably the rarest dragon in existence with only one ever sighted. This one dragon was also the same one somehow captured by the greatest member of the Wings of Freedom, Levi Ackerman. The fact that the humans have a live and healthy Evonna in the stables is beyond comprehension.

Pulling himself out of his focus, Eren went to find Armin who was currently tending to an unlucky soldier who was hit by the Falka.

"How many were hit?" Eren said, landing gracefully but heavily nearby and running over. He knelt down beside Armin to see the boy desperately trying to hold the man's bleeding guts in. His body was also shattered, bending in all the wrong places but he was alive. The moans and whimpers of agony were proof of that.

This was only some of the devastation these dragons caused to humanity, and Eren would have probably thrown up if he hadn't already seen the work of a dragon when it takes its sweet time with a victim.

_Bastards,_ he thought bitterly, _what have we ever done to deserve such Hell?_

"The Falka took out nine soldiers in one fell swoop!" Armin said, still frantically working on the flesh, "Hold this." He handed Eren some first aid as an extra set of hands which Eren complied with.

"Armin, I need another net," Eren spoke cautiously.

"This is your seventh in one night, Eren," Armin reasoned, still working to distraction to keep the soldier alive, "You can't keep using our resources like this,"

"I know, I know," said Eren, quickly, "this will be the last one, I promise."

Armin took the aid from Eren's hands and the boys ducked, covering the wounded as an explosion sounded near them and showered them with debris. This was just another night at work for these fifteen year old boys.

"You're not going after the Falka, are you, Eren?"

"How did you know?" Eren mumbled, picking splinters out of the soldier's wounds.

"Because I know you," Armin was coming close to finishing his work, "Mikasa will kill you if she finds out."

"Mikasa is not my mother!" Eren growled.

The boys ducked again when they heard the whistling return and waited for the onslaught to finish. Several screams and crashes later and the soldiers looked up again. It was another deadly strike from the Falka. Eren swallowed and forced the growing fear in his stomach down. He wasn't going to give up and let the dragon win before even facing it.

"Maternal instincts or not, Eren, you must respect the fact that Mikasa loves you and will do anything to keep her family alive and safe." Armin spoke calmly, "And throwing yourself in front of a pissed off Falka isn't respect!"

"Armin, please," Eren almost begged.

Sighing, Armin sat back, detached a net from his torso and handed it to Eren, "Last one okay?"

"Thank you Armin." Eren replied, hastily securing the net to himself.

His hands were shaky with anticipation and Eren could feel his heart rate rising with each passing second. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Eren stood and prepared to take off.

"Oh, and Eren?" Armin called for his attention and the boy looked down to see his friend now in the middle of securing the soldier's bones, "Don't get hurt from this one. Remember, it just took out nine soldiers in one hit and god knows how many more since."

Smirking, Eren didn't quell Armin's fears and simply said, "Just don't tell my sister," before taking off.

In an instant, Eren was back in the line of fire and everything was still as chaotic. Eren knew that his only hope would be to wait for the next attack so he had to avoid being tempted to use his net. That meant avoiding any dragons. Scanning around him, Eren noted that the Falka was combing through the area and could roughly predict that the next shot would be near the cliffs. Eren darted over, getting to high vantage points and avoiding dragons instead of tearing himself apart to offer help everywhere possible. Ducking, leaping and sprinting across rooftops, Eren covered ground quickly and cleanly. As he dashed closer and closer to the town's edge, Eren saw his other comrades in action, including Jean who looked to be having a bad time with an evasive Velx.

Finally, Eren reached the outskirts and lingered a few houses in so as not to limit his options of escape should he need to. Facing the ocean, he was waiting mere seconds before he heard the ominous whistling coming in on his left. Eren tensed his muscles and kicked forward.

_One shot,_ he reminded himself, _one shot to kill it. That's all it takes._

The whistling was almost ear-splitting and without even seeing it in the night sky, Eren knew that it was homing down on him. Suddenly, Eren jumped and fired himself thirty feet or so into the air, right into the line of his target.

Somewhere, Eren could hear someone screaming his name for him to stop, but it was far too late now.

Out of the darkness before him, the dragon emerged and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Eren raised his swords in perfect alignment to its heart in hopes that the dragon would fly right into them and do the work for him.

This was it.

This will be Eren's first kill in flight.

This will be the greatest-

Something in Eren's body stopped working and whether it was fear that moved him or something else, Eren's body faltered and twisted, forcing him into a perfect dodge under the dragon's wings. It was like he had no control over his body and by the time he realised it, it was too late.

In a desperate act to do something, anything, Eren swung his blade, definitely connecting with something, and opened his arms to release his net.

The familiar snap was heard as the net found its mark and Eren crashed painfully down onto a rooftop. He was able to look up just in time to see the shady silhouette of the bonded beast continue sailing through the air, hundreds of metres away and finally vanish into the depths of the forest. The echo of the dragon's cries of despair reached only the ears of Eren.

"Augh! Fuck!" Eren cursed out loud, mainly by the suffocating amount of disappointment that was drowning out any pain he felt from the crash, "Fuck! God… dammit!" He cursed again.

"Eren, what the Hell was that?!" Cried Mikasa as she rushed over to help Eren up.

"I don't fucking believe it!" Was the reply she got from him.

By now, dawn had come and the dragons retreated with the darkness. Soldiers were catching their breath and making final efforts to stop any dragons getting away with someone. It wasn't a clean sheet as it never is. Five or six people get taken at a minimum, particularly soldiers. On top of that, the dragons also target the livestock; so many sheep had gone with them.

"I had it Mikasa, I fucking had it!" Eren was ranting now and on the verge of pulling his hair out.

"Had what, Eren?" Mikasa gripped his shoulder to calm him down and get his attention.

"The Lethal Falka! It was mine! I nearly killed it! I-"

Mikasa interrupted Eren's tantrum, "I don't know what you're talking about. We saw the Falka fly away with the rest of the flock."

"What?" Eren exclaimed in disbelief, "No. No! No, that's not what happened at all, I caught it and, and it crashed just off Raven Point!"

At this point, the two had been joined by Armin, Jean and other familiar recruits.

"Well, Jaeger Boy, it's dawn and I don't see any dead Falkas."

"Jean!" Eren cried, exasperated, "You have to believe me; I did at least capture it!" His voice was rising in pitch as panic and despair settled in.

Jean sneered, "Even if you did capture it, which we know you didn't, that still means you failed to prove that you're cut out to be the Wings of Freedom and carry that honor."

A couple of the other soldiers snickered at the idea of Eren's pristine kill-rate of near-zero. Armin and Mikasa could see the pain and rage in Eren's eyes as he grew humiliated, hurt and enraged.

Jean fired more hurtful things at Eren before he was pulled away by his friend, Marco Bodt, and the soldiers retreated to the Grand Hall to assess the damage the night had brought on.

"Damn," Eren growled through gritted teeth, desperately trying to hold back tears.

"It's okay, Eren," Armin tried to soothe his friend, "M-maybe next time-"

"There is no next time!" Eren roared, "I really did catch that dragon and I'm going to prove it." He turned to the edge of town where the forest began and ran off, "Don't bother following me!" He called behind him.

"But, Eren!" Armin cried, "What about the meeting?!"

"Leave him." Mikasa said, bluntly, "If he wants to miss breakfast and run a hundred laps, let him."

And the two turned in the opposite direction to head home.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Downed Dragon

_I really did catch one!_

Eren darted deftly through the trees, swinging left and right as he made his way swiftly to where he believed the dragon landed.

_No one ever listens!_

He was going to prove it to everyone. He may have lost his chance to kill in flight, but he still had a chance to prove that he could kill a Lethal Falka.

Meanwhile, the town was getting back on its feet after the attack. Livestock were being counted and a ceremony was held in honor of those lost in the battle. It was pitiful; that all the humans could do was wait while the dragons picked them off one by one. After the remaining recruits had signed in and entered their number of dragons killed and captured, (Armin filling in for Eren and making up the lame excuse that he had gone to the bathroom to explain his absence) the leaders and seniors of the town and military called the soldiers in for a final meeting.

The Grand Hall was a masterpiece in itself; perfectly fortified against dragon attacks that hosted all kinds of events from mealtimes to a funeral and wedding venue. Pillars were dotted around to keep the massive ceiling up high and were laced with torches that lit up the place like a cosy home. In the centre was a large fireplace that acted as a source of light, warmth and a place for cooking masses of stews and broths for the soldiers. It was heavily lined with a stone wall, further lined with wood and was used as the centre stage for meetings. When it wasn't being used as a dining room, students could be found studying or simply socializing. The Hall was almost always lively and was often the first place people went to when searching for friends. The benches and tables used for eating and studying on had been pushed aside to make room for the meeting and Armin and Mikasa found themselves on the opposite end of the fire to the leaders of the Wings of Freedom. Before everyone had settled down and taken their places, someone heavily placed their arms over the shoulders of the young cadets and spoke boisterously to be heard over the crowd.

"There you are my lovelies!" Cried Squad Leader, Hanji Zoe, the goggles they wore on their forehead flashing ominously in the fire light.

"S-Squad Leader, Hanji!" Squeaked Armin, startled by the sudden contact and by a superior no less.

Mikasa neither said nor did anything aside nod her acknowledgement of the Wings of Freedom upon her shoulders.

"Busy, busy night for our little soldiers, I see!" The leader laughed loudly. Luckily, this didn't bother Armin or Mikasa at all as they were all on friendly terms and were used to their officer's fanatics, "I returned to the town centre only to find thirty-seven, _thirty-seven_ dragons on my doorstep! All tied up and lively as can be. More dragons for study; more, more, more! I was just going to look for the little soldier I knew responsible for a great portion of those captures, but I just can't find Jaeger anywhere!" Squad Leader turned their manic gaze on Armin who flinched slightly. Despite their charm, Hanji was rather overwhelming with their… weirdness, "You wouldn't happen to know where my favourite dragon-catcher might be, hmmm?"

"Ah, uhm- uh…" Armin failed to overcome his momentary flustering but Mikasa was there to save him.

"He said that he captured a Lethal Falka and went to retrieve it,"

Hanji was silent and Armin wondered if the Squad Leader had short-circuited. He was proven wrong however;

"Ahhhhhhh…" The adult mused.

Without another word, Hanji left the kids alone, presumably to stand by the fellow Leaders of the Wings of Freedom.

Before Armin and Mikasa could even try and make sense of the weird experience, the meeting started and called for their absolute attention.

The Commander of the Wings of Freedom rose and cleared his throat. His name was Erwin Smith and he had enough medals to make a full suit of armor with. His combat skills were exemplary and he was a renowned commander. Watching him in his field of work, even an idiot would know that this man killed dragons and titans alike for a cause; mankind's survival.

"Thank you for attending today, and thank you all for attending the ceremony of the dead. This is a hard battle we have been fighting for seven generations and we are allowing ourselves to continue to be preyed upon, even after our success in our surviving of the titans on the mainland. We will stand for this no more. These dragons cannot make prey of us, and we refuse to see any more of our own be stolen at the hands of them." He paused for breath and his officers shuffled behind him, anticipating something, "Every single one of you has offered your hearts, your lives to the glory of mankind. That is why during this next mission, it is your duty to protect the town and island with your lives while the Wings of Freedom and the High Ranking Squads will all be leaving for a final attack on the island where the dragons nest, before the ice sets in."

Erwin laid a large map out before him and those who stood near the front could see that it was a sea chart of the waters between Isle of Maria and the Dragons Nest. During the pause, the young recruits began to mumble and hum over the topic. Every time the Wings of Freedom left the island, there were almost always two Squads of veterans and seniors to protect the island should it be attacked. This next expedition was clearly going to be a huge one where the superiors planned to make it the last. Since they were entrusting the entire safety of the island to the young trainees, this was a big issue and one that made some youngsters nervous.

"Another matter that I am bringing to your attention," Erwin spoke loudly and the room fell silent once more, "is the new dragon training that will be starting up next week."

This started a new hum of excitement.

"This will be a special course of training for killing and capturing dragons, where you not only will be tested on your skills in combat, but also on your knowledge of the dragons as a species, as we all know that there are different types, therefore different ways on handling the dragons."

A collective groan rippled throughout the hall. No one within the military held reading and study close to their hearts, except for Armin, so to actually be tested and marked on knowledge of dragons immediately had a negative effect on the cadets.

"Throughout the training, you will be marked. By the end of the course, the top cadet of the class will be tasked with the honor of performing their skills in front of the entire military, and killing a dragon. This final test will determine whether they may graduate and become the Wings of Freedom early."

This was interesting. The idea of coming out on top and above everyone else was appealing enough; to become the Wings of Freedom before everyone else in your legion…

"Your teachers for this course will be Keith Shardis," a tall, dark and bald man with deep set eyes stood at the mention of his name, "Squad Leader, Hanji," the hyper leader stood up, "and Captain Levi."

A very short man with a bored, if not, irritated look on his face stood at the mention of his name. This was the man known as the last hope of mankind; Levi Ackerman and the only soldier to ever successfully capture the Deadly Evonna and his kill streak was well over two hundred. His skills in all forms of combat were legendary and he willingly threw himself into battle, only to have titan and dragon corpses fall in his wake. To learn from the epitome of the Wings of Freedom himself was something no soldier was willing to give up. Hanji on the other hand…

"In the mean-time," Erwin wrapped up his speech, "all cadets are required to continue their titan-killing training. Dismissed."

This sent another ripple of disappointment through the crowd as the idea of dragon training on top of titan training was ugly in itself. Before the soldiers were released they were instructed to leave the hall as they found it and return the benches and tables to where they belonged. Soon, the Grand Hall was almost empty as the soldiers left to start their day again, dragon-free.

All that was left were Erwin, Hanji, Shardis and Levi, who all seated themselves at a bench near the centre fireplace.

"Well, this is exciting," Hanji commentated, earning an eye-roll from Levi and absolutely no response from Erwin. Instead, Hanji focused their attention on the Captain, "Plenty of promising cadets this year, don't ya think?"

"Hmph, mere snacks offering themselves to the dragons, I'd say," the Captain replied.

"Aw, don't be like that, Levi," Hanji mused, "I know that's not completely what you think. What about Eren Jaeger? Wanna bet he's gonna make it to the final test?"

Levi sighed and spoke stiffly, "Squad Leader, if I had the choice on the matter, I wouldn't even let Jaeger join the others in training."

Hanji merely smiled, "There's nothing wrong with not killing dragons in flight,"

"That's the whole point of the Wings of Freedom."

"He may not make a good 'Levi', but he can sure help me with the capture and study of the dragons. A good catcher can be quite valuable to the team," Hanji's buoyant mood was ticking Levi off.

"How fucking wonderful; another nut-case to join the looney bin. You can only carry one damn net at a time, Hanji. You can't keep using them as your only defense. Sooner or later, Jaeger is going to need his blades in mid-flight and when that time comes, he's going to get himself killed!"

There was a long pause which caused Erwin to look up from his papers slightly and Shardis to slow whatever he was doing to hear better.

"… My, my, Heichou, do you care for the boy?"

Levi looked away, scowling and only 'tch'd' in response. He did not want to deal with Hanji's teasing right now.

"Besides," Hanji continued, "this debate is pointless. We all know that Jaeger is going to join anyway, so the best _we_ can do for him is to prepare him."

At this moment, Erwin collected his papers and stood, preparing to leave. The other seniors stood in response and followed their Commander out of the Grand Hall.

"You're right about one thing, freak," Levi said as they stepped into the sunlight, "A good catcher can be quite valuable to the team."

Hanji smiled in triumph.

"But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on the boy." And he further added, "And my money is on that Ackerman girl."

At that, Hanji broke out into laughter.

Several miles away, deep in the forest of the Isle of Maria, Eren was having a tough time finding his dragon. After completely combing through yet another large section of forest, Eren began to wonder if the dragon may have escaped its bonds and his spirits fell.

"Damn, I hope not," Eren mumbled to himself, taking off once more to find another area near the point.

A little while or so later, Eren remembered, (much to his anguish) that his gas supply was not infinite and that he would have to turn back soon if he wanted enough to go home with.

"Or I could just walk," he spoke his thoughts out loud. "Damn my bad luck! This is so unfair!"

Eren probably would have continued to rant if it weren't for a fortunate stroke of luck (or lack of it) that he miscalculated his jump and fell to the ground, painfully tumbling and rolling for several metres.

"Shit!" Eren cursed, glad Mikasa wasn't there to scold him for his bad language or performance.

To prevent himself form sulking further, he directed his thoughts away from Mikasa's mothering to the mysterious article he quite literally stumbled upon. Eren found himself, (wires and gear a total mess) sitting in what looked to be a large trench, the earth scarred for about seven metres before ending at a slight ledge. Curious, Eren picked himself up and began to examine this strange formation. It looked like something had completely bowled through the earth… like a crash landing. Eren's heart rate picked up and he hastily made his way over to the ledge. There he stopped and ever so cautiously peaked over.

At the startling sight of a massive creature, Eren quickly ducked and hoped that he hadn't been spotted. He heard no sound of movement and dared to look again. What he could see from his skewed angle was definitely a dragon, lying on the ground and unmoving. It was so still, Eren wondered if it was dead. Heart hammering, Eren pulled out a dagger, one that was mandatory for soldiers to carry should the situation call it. Forcing himself to hold the blade steady and to calm his breathing, Eren crawled over the ledge and dropped down into the area below before quickly hiding himself behind a large rock. He couldn't be too careful with a dragon and for all he knew, it could be playing dead. Hopefully, it still hadn't noticed him.

Eren slowly looked around the boulder and found himself drawn to an impressive sight. Eren couldn't help but reveal his presence and stare; before him, lay a handsome, magnificent Lethal Falka, the one he captured. Its body was almost completely encased in the net (a perfect shot on Eren's behalf) and what wasn't in the net was ensnared by the remaining ropes. From nose to tail, the creature looked to be about seven metres in length, maybe even more. It was mainly a honey-gold in colour with feathered areas of a dark brown, like Eren's own hair colour. It truly looked unmistakably beautiful, the feathers and fur reflecting in the morning sunshine. Strong muscles could be seen rippling under the skin, highlighting the beast's athletic stature. Entranced by the splendor of the dragon, Eren had to remind himself that this was a monster responsible for the deaths and abductions of countless lives and deserved no such respect. Still, he couldn't hold back his awe.

"Oh… wow…" he whispered.

His eyes trailed over the elegant form, and over the wings, oh, the wings! Even partially restrained under the net and ropes, Eren could easily appreciate their brilliance and guessed them to be around ten metres in length when fully spread. That was the height of some titans!

Before he could stop himself, Eren's hand reached out to stroke along the wing. He was able to feel the pure, silky feathers under his touch before he was promptly and quite violently shrugged off. This startled Eren and he stumbled backwards until his 3D Manoeuvre Gear clattered loudly against the boulder behind. Eren gasped with excitement and adrenaline, his senses on high alert. Upon closer inspection, the dragon was indeed still alive and was now huffing. Gripping his dagger, Eren inched closer again, watching the body for any sign of sudden movement. But all he saw was the steady heaving of the dragon's breathing as it forced air into its restrained lungs. Eren thought he could even hear the air moving through its body, probably from the air sacs that assisted it in flight. Eren's eyes trailed to the dragon's face and he was met with the most startling blue eye he had ever seen. It was wide and panicked, clearly indicating the dragon's distress. It was looking straight at him. Eren had never looked in the eyes of a dragon before; they were all mere animals to him. But this one showed something Eren never expected to see in a dragon; intelligence. The beast was clearly aware of the situation it was in and knew that its life was now in the hands of the hunter above it.

Taking a deep breath, Eren cleared his mind of intruding thoughts and raised his dagger until it was pointing directly over the heart, just in front of the dragon's shoulder. It may not have been a flying kill, but the glory of killing a Lethal Falka by one's self was good enough for the young soldier.

"I'm gonna kill you, dragon." He breathed, "I'm gonna… Cut out your heart, and take it to my leaders. I am a soldier… The Wings of Freedom!" He yelled. This dragon was going to pay for its crimes against humanity.

A soft whimper escaped the dragon's throat and resonated in the air around them. It was begging for his mercy.

Eren raised the blade above his head and closed his eyes, ready to deliver the final blow. Before he did, however, Eren sneaked another glance at the beast below him and his turquoise eyes met with sapphire once more.

He was transfixed and was only freed when the dragon looked away, sighing in defeat.

_I… I can't… do it?_

Suddenly, the strength in Eren's arms vanished and his gear felt uncomfortably heavy. Dropping his arms to his sides, Eren looked at the blade in his hand then at the dragon. Seeing this regal, once free beast now tied up pitifully before the boy… Stirred something in him. Was it… Regret?

"I did this…" He whispered, stepping back.

He inexplicably felt guilty for taking this beast's freedom and initially its life. The confusion that swept over him was almost as strong. How could he feel pity for such a murderous creature? Yet here he was, stepping away from the dragon. He thought about turning away and never looking back. Maybe he could forget the whole thing ever happened… But he stayed. Without even thinking, Eren turned, knelt down beside the dragon and began to unclip the net, un-looping hinges and detaching joints. The material used was similar to the wire used for the 3D Manoeuvre Gear and was too tough for blades to cut. This prevented the dragons from clawing their way out of the nets. Eren worked quickly, seeing the ropes slacken on the dragon's body, allowing blood to flow into its limbs once more. Suddenly, in a flurry of feathers, a yell and a snarl, the dragon lunged and pinned Eren down against the rock behind him. One paw pressed tightly against the boy's chest, its huge talons trapping him there like a cage and the other pinned his arm down. In an instant, the tables had turned, and Eren was now at the mercy of the dragon.

Gasping and unable to control the panic and sudden fear swelling inside of him, Eren looked up to face the dragon. It held its face close to his and forced him to look straight into its paralyzing glare. Eren's own teal eyes were widened and he realised that he must be feeling what the dragon felt under him mere seconds ago.

"Ah… Ah…" Eren whimpered the only words he could form.

His mind was a whirl of thoughts. Eren could feel the dragon's hot breath on his face and was so close he could hear the low rumble of the threatening growls deep in its throat. Slowly, wrinkling its snout to reveal two rows of pointed teeth, the dragon slowly raised its head.

_This is it… I am going to die here._

The moment the dragon moved to bring its head down, Eren flinched and snapped his eyes shut, expecting to feel those terrible teeth sink into his head and end his life. Instead, Eren heard an ear-splitting shriek as the dragon roared angrily into his ears. It was over in a second and Eren felt the great presence leave him. Cautiously looking up in disbelief, Eren saw the silhouette of the dragon fly clumsily away, deeper into the forest and the fog that was beginning to settle. He watched as it crashed into a rock that was jutting out and cry in distress. Its wings exceeded Eren's expectations as they flapped powerfully as they tore through the air.

Eren couldn't believe it. For a little while, he lay there, gasping and heaving, feeling the wonderful air rush in and out of his lungs. It was an indescribable experience being so close to a dragon, a Lethal Falka, and to be left alive to actually look back on it.

"Ah…! Hah! Oh, god!" Eren continued to struggle to find words and remained on the ground to catch his breath.

Once he was sure that he was a lone, Eren tested his legs and attempted to stand. His knees wobbled and he had to hold onto the rock for support.

"What the Hell was that?"


	4. Chapter 3 - Dragon Training

"Eren!" Armin called, seeing his friend for the first time that morning after the raid. When the boy didn't respond, Armin called again "Eren!"

Eren looked pretty distracted as he walked almost aimlessly. He was trying to get to the Grand Hall with the intent of finding some breakfast but he was clearly preoccupied with something.

"Is something wrong with him?" Mikasa asked as they watched him stumble into the hall and disappear from view.

"Come on," Armin encouraged and they followed him in.

Looking around, Armin and Mikasa found Eren in a rather secluded spot away from the slightly more crowded area near the centre fireplace. He had managed to grab a loaf of bread but the food simply lay in his hands, uneaten.

"You go talk to him," Mikasa said, pushing Armin in Eren's direction.

"Huh? But what about you?"

"I'm going to get ready for dragon training,"

Armin stared in disbelief, "But… It's not 'til next week!"

Mikasa had walked to the hall entrance and her hand was already on the door, "Exactly. I need to get stronger if I am to help protect Eren in future battles." And without another word, Mikasa left.

"… I don't understand her sometimes…" Armin muttered, rubbing the back of his head and made his way over to his friend.

"Hey," Armin greeted Eren as he sat down beside him. There wasn't even a grunt in reply, "Eren, is there something wrong?"

After the continuous silence and Eren just staring at his food, Armin gave his shoulder a squeeze and a shake.

"Huh? What?" Eren snapped out of his trance, "Yeah… Yeah-no, nothing's wrong…"

Armin's brows furrowed but he didn't press the matter. If Eren wanted to discuss his problems with Armin then he would let him in his own time.

In his head, Eren was arguing if he should tell Armin everything or anything… Or nothing.

_Maybe I should tell him…?_ Eren pondered. _I'll give it a minute and see…_

Armin cleared his throat and changed topics in hopes of taking Eren's mind off things, "Well, you weren't here for the meeting but I've got something to tell you that you will really love!"

"Hm?"

Armin continued, babbling with excitement for his friend, "Commander Erwin has announced dragon training for the cadets next week! And the top trainee gets to kill a dragon at the end of the course to prove they are ready to join the Wings of Freedom!"

_Ohhhh shit, I should have gone first!_ Eren internally panicked.

He began to ramble, "Y-you know, Armin, maybe Jean is right, and I really am not cut out to be a dragon killer and join the Wings of Freedom,"

Armin was stunned, "Wha-?" But Eren cut him off.

"I mean, sure I always dreamed of joining them and sometimes I feel like it was the whole reason I was born, but, I don't think there are enough… Dragonologists like Hanji or… Maybe I could stick to something more low key like… Sheep herding or… Or…"

"Eren, do you hear yourself?"

Eren sighed, "There's a problem… I want to tell you about…"

Armin said nothing and waited patiently for his friend.

"But not yet…"

Armin took Eren's bread and began to break it for him, "Take your time. I'll always be here for you. In the meantime, you have to come to dragon training, the leaders, Hanji and Levi are expecting you probably the most."

Eren sighed and began to eat his late breakfast.

"Oh, and uhm, the Wings of Freedom and all the Squads are leaving for a final expedition... So we're on duty until they get back." Armin added.

"… I canf khill dwagonsh…" Eren mumbled with his mouth full of bread.

"Pardon?" Armin asked, but Eren only shook his head, dropping it.

Armin was really concerned for his friend. He had never seen him so apprehensive to join in on anything that involved fighting for humanity, and he looked ever so troubled since he got back. Armin wondered if something bad had happened when he went to look for that Lethal Falka. Armin tried not to overthink the matter, but it was hard. Still, he remained silent for Eren and waited patiently to be an open ear for him.

The week seemed to fly past and Eren was still keeping his problems bottled up inside. He was grateful for Armin giving him space and for keeping Mikasa off his case… When he was around, that is. For the whole week, Mikasa had been nagging him to tell her what was wrong, trying to get him to spill, but this only pissed the boy off and made him more secluded and more precious about his problems. Armin reasoned with Mikasa that Eren just needed space and time, a concept that Mikasa seemed to struggle to understand. A week with no seniors put the town guardians on edge, but fortunately, there were no attacks during their time away. On the eve of the dragon training course, a single ship returned harboring the Squad Leader Hanji, Officer Shardis and Captain Levi. They had returned early so as to start the dragon training for the trainees.

"It probably explains why Commander Erwin took all the other seniors with him," Armin said when they returned; "I'm surprised he even let the leaders return at all, considering he wants to destroy the nest completely in this expedition."

"I don't understand our leader sometimes," Eren muttered.

Unfortunately for Eren, the fact that the week seemed to go past quickly meant that dragon training was suddenly upon him and he was far from ready. His sleep was broken the night before which left him both exhausted and jumpy. Just like every other morning, the trainees woke early, quickly dressed themselves and had breakfast in the Grand Hall. Except for Eren, he struggled to eat anything.

"Godammit, Eren, if you don't eat your food now, Sasha is going to steal it." Mikasa scolded him.

Eren was used to her mother-like attacks and simply ignored her.

After breakfast, the cadets all equipped themselves in their battle gear and made their way to the training forest. The forest was directly behind the town, a few hundred feet from the edge of the last houses. It was massive; colossal eighty metre trees stretching for miles across the island. Different areas were used for different training exercises such as titan training, fitness training, teamwork challenges, missions and of course, dragon training. Within the forest were not only trees but also a large clearing. This clearing was ringed with a tall and thick wooden fence and the entire area was enclosed in a wire net which stretched all the way up to the top of the trees. The ground was also heavily dotted with tall posts for soldiers to swing from, with a few bare areas. The arena had a diameter of about seventy metres and gave plenty of space for training. On both the outside and inside of the ring, platforms were stationed for spectators and trainers to watch everything from a great vantage point. Though this all seemed very fancy and clearly had a lot of hard work put into it, the real impressive construction was the wire net the humans had erected around the entire dragon training section of the forest. This went around for a couple of miles and was more like a sanctuary to prevent the dragons they kept from escaping at all. It really felt like fighting in a natural environment when the dragons were released and the soldiers had to rely on their skills, knowledge and even senses so as not to get critically wounded. Hanji thought that the arena and training field were great and all but did wish that some labor of love would go into the studies of dragons rather than the simple extermination of them.

And the facilities didn't end there. Conjoined with the wooden walls that build the smaller arena were fortified stables in which the captured dragons were kept. The wood was far too thick and tough for their talons to do much damage to (though clear scars were evident, and splinters littered the floor) as well as the wires which barred them from the sky. The doors to these separated stable blocks opened up into the smaller arena where the dragons could be released instantaneously and were in a long row along the wooden wall.

Around thirty students stood outside the arena gates, buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Cadets checked and rechecked their gear and others chatted animatedly about how well they expected to rank at the end of the course.

Eren could feel his body quivering slightly and sweat forming on his back. He wasn't scared of the dragons per se; more like if the dragons made him look like a fool in front of everyone else.

"Just do what you do best, Eren," Mikasa encouraged.

"She's right, Eren," Armin piped in, "if you just apply all the knowledge you have, you'll be fine." He hadn't forgotten about Eren's little phase last week and he was now getting worried for him.

As for Eren, whenever he wasn't thinking about training, his mind constantly wandered back to that Falka. He wondered if it was still on the island, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. Then again, it probably just wanted to go home back to its nest. But what if it was vengeful? What if it really was waiting? Waiting for the perfect moment to attack and slit his throat with those terrible talons?

Eren was nudged back into reality by Armin and saw that the gates had opened and the students were filing in. Inside, after taking in the amazing view of the arena from the ground level, the cadets lined themselves in position before their three leaders and saluted. The cadets were spread thin and despite the numbers, there was still plenty of room for even two more dragons to be added. Of course, chaos would ensue, but there was still plenty of space to get away.

"Let's get started," Shardis shouted, stepping forward and taking the spotlight, "Captain Levi, Squad Leader Hanji and I will be taking your training for the next few weeks during this course. We each specialize in different aspects of dragon fighting, and you will be taking two lessons every day. This will allow a rotation system where the training activities will change each day. This is so you will still have time to attend your other training, studies and duties." Shardis paused to let that all sink in.

"The training with me," he continued, "will be basic training within the small arena. This will be dealing with up to two dragons in an enclosed space where you will have to alternate between solo and teamwork to complete the set tasks and become familiar with the different dragon types in a safer environment."

"'Safer'?" Armin squeaked quietly.

"Oh, god," Eren sighed.

"I shall now let the other leaders introduce what their training consists of." Shardis announced and stepped back.

Captain Levi was the next to stand forward. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here and scowled at the young cadets that lined up before him.

"As second in command of the Wings of Freedom, it is my duty to teach you brats how to handle dragons in a much more challenging environment."

Eren blinked, now interested.

"With me, you will be working outside of the small arena and in the open facility where the environment is much more open and natural." His eyes glinted morbidly for a second, "It is also where the dragons will have an upper hand. So you better pay attention to everything I have to say, is that clear?"

"Hai!" The trainees chorused.

"Solo and teamwork will both be involved to test you as a soldier and a guardian of Isle Maria." Levi finished and stepped back to allow Hanji to talk.

"Hi there, fellow soldiers!" The loud and happy Squad Leader shouted, their excitement almost visibly coming off them in waves, "I am going to be working on a more theory based education rather than practical, where we will be closely studying and researching the beasts so you can learn everything there is to know about them!"

Though everyone was silent and blank, the dread was evident.

"That means getting up close and personal," Hanji winked then continued, "and also means that there will be homework after every theory lesson to hand in!"

If the cadets could moan in despair, they would have. Luckily, they valued their skin on their bodies more than expressing their opinions.

Hanji stepped back and Shardis took over once again.

"Over the next few weeks, you will be studying the different types of dragons;" he began to walk along the walls of the arena where the stable doors were located. As he did so, Hanji and Levi launched their 3D Manoeuvre Gear and stationed themselves on platforms high above the cadets. Shardis began to name the dragons behind the heavy doors as he passed them, "The Laurel, the Raufen, the Deadly Evonna, both the Incit and Pernix Navita… and the Velx." Shardis finally stopped beside the door that apparently held the Velx.

"Sir!" Someone shouted within the crowd of trainees.

From the corner of his eye, Eren could see that it was Jean who had called out and had his hand up. Shardis nodded his consent for the boy to speak.

"Jaeger already killed a Lethal Falka, so… Does that disqualify him?"

A ripple of laughter and snickers rose from the formation as Jean's mean jab amused them. Jean's humour also caused some fellow cadets like Connie and Sasha to almost burst into full blown laughter.

As for Eren Jaeger, he was blushing furiously while staring intently into the ground. How he wanted for a dragon to swoop down right now and take him away, but not before leaving a bloody parting gift on Jean's face.

"Careful, Kirstein," Shardis warned, placing his hand on the lever that would open the stable door, "that might be the last thing you ever say."

Seeing Shardis so casually move to release a dragon right now, Jean had another outburst, "Wait, wait! Aren't you going to teach us anything first?"

He was answered by Hanji who shouted down to them, "We believe in learning on the job!"

With a smirk, Shardis pulled the lever down and the doors burst open to reveal the slender Velx behind. In an instant, the dragon spread its long wings and leaped into the air, already in take-off. The cadets had seconds to move out of the way and get airborne themselves before they were dive-bombed and struck by the dragon. Already, the arena was in chaos, gas hissing like bombs, wires firing and whirling and hearts hammering in chests. There was no time to rest, even in the huge space as the Velx could clearly see who was lagging and was fast enough to get over there in seconds. This Velx was a soft light brown in colour, with dark and pale brown markings on its wings, dark feet and a pale underbelly.

"Velxes are clearly thin and light with pointed wings that flick out at a fast rate." Shardis educated the cadets, his voice booming out. He too, was using his gear to follow the dragon to see how the students reacted near it, "What are its classes?"

"Speed and stealth?" Jean called, seeing if staying close to the ground worked.

"No! Speed and agility!" Armin corrected him pulling off a rushed but successful flip to avoid an attack.

"Correct!" Shardis applauded him, "As a result, what does that mean?"

He watched as a cadet squealed after being cut off and sent tumbling to the ground. Before the dragon could harm the girl, Shardis threw a pellet that made a loud bang and the noise chased the Velx off. It clearly had a strong impact on the dragon as it shook its head and flicked its ears as though the sound highly irritated it.

"These pellets," Shardis added the new information, "are loud enough to throw off a dragon's aim or even desire to kill."

"Velxes are very fast!" The soldier who had fallen yelled answering Shardis' previous question before scrambling to her feet.

But Shardis was looking for a key trait, "What else?"

"Sharp turns!" cried Jean who was struggling to shake it off. No matter how many twists and turns he made, the dragon stuck to him like glue.

"No stamina." Eren dared to chip in.

"Right! But there's more to that," Shardis waited for Eren to elaborate but it was Mikasa who did.

"It's hard to see so be patient!" The girl was moving effortlessly, like the gear was as smooth as wings on her back.

"Precisely! A Velx will hardly show any signs of fatigue. So to find out if it has, you make a false strike!"

Determined to one up Jean and not look like a total fool, Eren decided the he should be the one to demonstrate this. In doing so, he forgot a crucial rule when making this move. Eren managed to get the attention of the Velx and began a series of dodges to avoid injury. The Velx was now frustrated with the lack of successful hits and screeched out in annoyance. Eren, without actually thinking about it, assumed this to be the first sign of fatigue and made his dummy move. Except, the dragon didn't dodge sloppily at all! No, the Velx avoided this perfectly and was ready to strike again. Eren was in trouble. He was now fully exposed to the dragon which was still full of energy.

"Shit!" Eren screamed, forcing himself to drop to avoid getting sliced in half.

The Velx now had him under control and gave chase. The hunt was on.

"The other thing is timing!" Shardis explained, using Eren's mistake to educate the others but still staying close to keep an eye on him, "If you make a false move too early, it leaves you wide open for an attack."

"Better late than never!" Jean shouted to make sure Eren could hear him.

Eren was a mess; he was fuming with humiliation and rage from his mistake and was now on the run, twisting and turning, making as many dodges as possible to shake the Velx off. This did not go to plan, not like how he perfectly dealt with a Velx at the last raid. Like with Jean, the Velx stuck close and growled its desire to bite into Eren's flesh. Eren was now both scared and tired and was struggling to get away. He noticed that the Velx had herded him close to the wall so there was little room and little to no options. Other cadets moved out of Eren's way and were totally ignored by the Velx.

"Shit! Shit!" Eren cursed, his lungs screaming as he flexed his body savagely to gain distance, but to no avail.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried, clearly seeing the trouble her brother was in, "Sir, he's in trouble!"

But Mikasa did not need to even say so, as Shardis had already chased after the two. Eren attempted an erratic turn in a desperate act to escape, but was cut off by the dragon and knocked down to the ground. Eren yelped and grunted in pain as he continued to roll until he painfully hit the arena wall. Coughing, Eren looked up to see that he was completely trapped by the Velx, and suddenly remembered the feeling he felt when trapped under the Falka a week ago. Eren's eyes were wide and his breathing was uneven. The dragon snarled and raised its head to strike.

_Fuck!_

"EREN!"

Before the dragon could strike, a pellet exploded right beside them, the noise frightening the Velx away. Eren had closed his eyes and curled up out of exhaustion but he could still hear the angered shrieks of the dragon as it was deprived of killing once again. Opening his eyes, Eren saw Armin and Mikasa first, leaning over him and clearly concerned. Behind them stood Shardis and behind Shardis was the rest of the legion. Shardis walked over to Eren and grabbed him by the arm to pull him up to his feet.

"If there's one thing to remember," He said, speaking to the students as well as Eren, "it's that a dragon will always…" he looked back at Eren, "Always go for the kill."

Eren refused to say anything after that and braved the taunts and jeers from Jean for another hour as the students moved onto the next class with Hanji. As the trainees had just started learning about Velxes, Hanji explained that the next two lessons will be about them as well and that the same went for the other dragons. As the class listened (or didn't) to Hanji's lively education about the Velx's anatomy and habits, Eren's thoughts were once again invaded by the Falka. If dragons always went for the kill, then that doesn't explain the Falka's behavior after Eren released it. Finally, Hanji set the kids their homework and they were released form their dragon training. Eren, Armin and Mikasa planned to go have lunch in the Grand Hall except Mikasa decided to skip out to do further training. Instead, Armin and Eren sat and ate in each other's company, little Armin trying to make conversation by talking animatedly about his excitement for the Velx assignment.

"Something I can actually do for once!" Armin said, his blue eyes staring off into space.  
"Armin," Eren spoke quietly, "I'm gonna take the rest of the day off,"

"Oh," said Armin, looking a little perplexed, "do you want me to keep you company?"

Eren shook his head, "No, it's okay, just… I dunno, I'll talk to you later about it," Eren then rose from his seat, taking his half empty bowl of stew with him.

"Is it something about that dragon?" Armin asked gently.

Eren looked down to see a warm face smiling slightly, one he really trusted and felt comfortable around, "Something like that," he said, returning the smile.

Eren then turned to leave but not before depositing his bowl in front of Sasha who squealed with delight.

"You're gonna get fat like a pig with the way you're eating everyone's leftovers," Connie teased her.

"No I'm not," Sasha retorted, her mouth full, "I eat like this every day and have never gained a gram. You're just jealous because you can't eat like I do!"

Eren left before he could hear anymore and went to refill his gas tanks. On his way to the station, he crossed paths with Jean who was talking with Marco. Jean couldn't help not pass up the opportunity to upset Eren further and called out to him as soon as he was within earshot.

"I've never seen anyone mess up as bad as you, Jaeger Boy!"

Marco tried to discourage Jean but it didn't work. Eren only picked up his pace, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid any more taunts.

"What a shame, the higher ups had big hopes for you. Such a let-down to see their favourite, Jaeger-Bombastic get pimp-slapped by a little Velx!"

"Jean, that's enough," Marco said, trying to pull him away, but it was too late.

"Say that to your father's grave, Kirstein!" Eren roared before vanishing inside the gas station and slamming the door.

He knew that he was going to be in big trouble the next time he saw Jean after hitting a nerve like that. It was a dark day for the boy after he failed to save his dad from a certain dragon attack after underestimating the beast. Jean never forgave himself for it.

"Damn!" Eren hissed before moving on to reload his tanks.


	5. Chapter 4 - Wounded

Eren didn't really know what he was doing running off into the forest again, or what he was expecting to find if he did. He just felt like he had left something unfinished, something that needed his attention. Gas tanks full, Eren flew through the forest at speed, his 3D Gear pulling and swinging him past and around the huge trees, covering a great amount of land. Eventually, he found himself back at the site where the dragon landed; his net in pieces lay abandoned. Eren stared at the device, noticing how useless and pathetic it suddenly looked when dismantled. He remembered how the net landed and held the proud creature down and restrained. Sighing, Eren moved on, but this time, decided to walk. Walking took much less effort and concentration and he wasn't in a hurry to be anywhere. It gave him time and a place to think and wonder about things. Things like his problems or life choices. His feet kept going, clad in fine leather made from the hide of the beasts he hunted; they took him through the woods, over stumps and roots, around boulders and down rocky slopes. He could hear life all around him, the leaves in the foliage rustling like spirits were chattering and birds sung their hearts out. The wildlife and the forest weren't something Eren particularly held dear but he was glad that it was here for him all of a sudden.

Eventually, stumbling through two large boulders, Eren found himself in a place he never knew existed. At the end of the darkness between the boulders was a crack of light which opened up into a bright protected bowl of land, like a sort of cove. Around the perimeter was a high wall of rock that was smooth but had areas of ledges and cracks that allowed plants to grow and degrade in. In the centre of the glade was a pond large enough to sustain fish and various small trees, fallen logs and mossy rocks littered the place. It was a stunning place, for lack of better words, as the sunlight streamed through the tall trees, lacing the floor with dappled shadows. Eren was silent as he took the sight in, wondering how no one had found this place before. Then again, they would probably want to keep it secret. In the corner of Eren's eye, something glinted brightly and Eren turned his head to see a single golden feather basking in the sunlight. Its light weight caused it to wobble in the slightest draft which made it flash brightly. Bending down, Eren picked it up and examined it. It was a huge secondary feather, one that was too big for any normal bird to own and stretched the length of Eren's forearm.

"Could it be?" He murmured.

Eren's musings were interrupted by movement and a mewling call that caused his head to snap back to the glade. The boy couldn't believe it; the Lethal Falka that Eren had downed a week ago had just ran out into the open, cantering around the pond and crying out in distressed mewls similar to that of a bird of prey. The Falka's cries became more desperate as it picked up speed and spread its wings. Eren watched as the dragon prepared to take off, its long ears pointed back as the wings rose higher. The Falka leaped into the air, its wings beating down powerfully… And then fell with a thump. Puzzled, Eren watched as the Falka shook it off and attempted to take off again, only to come crashing down like before. Frustrated, the dragon snarled and pawed at the ground, its talons digging up earth as it did so. For some reason, the dragon was prevented from flying, which meant that it couldn't escape the cove in which it had most unfortunately fallen in. Tired, the dragon turned away from Eren's direction and laid its body to rest. Eren could see the skin stretched a little uncomfortably over the bones of the creature and realised that it looked malnourished. Of course, if it had been living in the cove for a week with no way to reach the ocean to hunt, it was no surprise that the dragon would be starving.

"Still doesn't explain why it can't get out…" Eren whispered so as not to give away his hiding spot.

It was at that moment that Eren realised that he had one of several choices to make. The first being to walk away like last week and never think of it again, the second to kill it now and be done with it, the third to go back and tell the authorities about it, and the fourth being probably the most stupid, inexplicable one Eren could possibly come up with. Before he changed his mind, Eren left the cove to go through with his choice.

Armin sighed his relief and pleasure at finishing the homework Hanji had set the cadets earlier that day. He had written a rather long report on the Velx, information taken from his notes from the class and books he had issued from the small town library. It wasn't hard at all to obtain these books as no other cadets were taking their studies quite as seriously. He had spent most of the afternoon bent over his book as he wrote furiously, the library books strewn across the table he sat at. His fingers were sore but it was worth it for Armin. The boy ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it slightly and making it look fluffy. Looking around the hall, Armin guessed that it would soon be time for chores and he would have to report to Captain Levi to get his job for the day.

"Not looking forward to that," Armin muttered to no one in particular, but to his surprise, he was answered.

"Not looking forward to what, Armin?"

Startled, the blond turned to see his friend, Eren standing behind him. He looked a little breathless and his hair was windswept. Armin also noted that he was still in his 3D Manoeuvre Gear.

"Where have you been?" He asked accusingly.

"Erm…" Eren looked around as if searching for words on the walls, "It's about my problem. I need to show you something. Now."

Armin stood up rather quickly and was about to speak but Eren shushed him, "You have to promise not to tell anyone, not even Mikasa."

Armin sighed, "Eren, can't this wait?"

"Not really."

"But we have chores,"

"Screw chores," Eren said harshly, grabbing Armin by the wrist and yanking him away from the table, "I need you to see this now, before I change my mind!"

"Alright, just let me put my books away!" Armin pulled himself free and collected his notes and books.

Eren watched as Armin slipped a smaller notebook inside his jacket. They then left Grand Hall to go to Armin's room in the boys' dormitory and drop the bigger books and papers off.

"Alright, let's go!" Eren said impatiently.

Armin sighed again, defeated as he allowed his friend to drag him to the block where they kept the 3D Manoeuvre Gear. Armin guessed it meant that Eren wanted to take him somewhere across the island if he needed his gear.

"Tell me why Mikasa can't know about this?" Armin asked tiredly as Eren watched him buckle his belts and adjust his harness.

"I'll tell you when we get there, now come on!"

"So hasty," Armin muttered.

Soon the boys were flying through the forest, Eren leading the way and Armin at a total loss as to why they were there. He was also feeling uncomfortable about ditching chores and worried about what kind of punishments they might receive from the Captain. Eventually, Eren slowed to a stop and landed on the ground, waiting for Armin to follow.

"Before we head in, Armin, I need you to promise not to freak out and go telling everyone," Eren spoke clearly, his turquoise eyes boring into Armin's sky blue pair.

"Why me?" Armin said, resignedly.

"Because you're the only one I trust not to do those things." Eren replied, bluntly.

He then motioned Armin to follow and led him to the wall of large boulders. They both squeezed through the crack and perched themselves on the ledge overlooking the hidden cove.

"Wow, Eren. It's very nice," Armin said in a bored tone.

But Eren was actively looking around, his eyes straining for something unseen.

"It was here before…" Eren whispered, "There!"

As Eren pointed down directly below them, Armin's gaze followed to see the top of a Lethal Falka prowling. Its wings were folded and its long tail dragged behind it.

"Oh god, Eren! Is that a Lethal Falka?!" Armin hissed.

"Quiet! Yes, it is!" Eren tried to shush him but it was too late.

Armin's outburst startled the dragon and it leaped up and fled, spreading its wings and flying awkwardly across the pond, opposite to where it stood a second ago. Eren noticed that whatever stopped it from flying before was still present as the dragon didn't quite make it across and finished its journey bounding through the water. They boys held their breaths as it shook the water from its body and, taking an aggressive stance with ears laid back and wings slightly opened, looked to see what had made the noise. Its blue eyes found and locked with the soldiers' and held their gazes like a trance. Neither dragon nor human moved as the transition continued between them. Eren noticed a slight twitch in the dragon's movement and realised that it had focused entirely on him. Curious as to why it would do that, Eren cocked his head ever so slightly, perturbed by his interest in the beast. Even more curious was the dragon's reaction as it too cocked its own head slightly and its ears reassembled themselves to something less threatening and more engaging.

"It's studying us," Armin dared to breathe. The dragon continued to watch them.

"The dragon is unable to leave or do anything from down there," Eren replied, not taking his eyes away.

Armin placed a hand on Eren's shoulder, "Is that the one you shot down last week? The thing you wanted to tell me about?"

"Yeah."

"Did it land in here?"

"No," Eren then answered the next question before it was asked, "it flew in, or fell rather, after I released it."

Armin paused, taking this in. Here was a rare dragon seemingly trapped in a glade that Eren had taken down a week ago and then released. There were so many things wrong with this.

"Eren…" Armin spoke sternly so that the severity of the situation reached him, "Why didn't you kill the dragon, and why are you unhurt?"

Eren took a shaky breath, still watching the dragon which was unmoving except for the ears which flicked back and forth, listening to their conversation, "I don't know. But when I let it go… it just left."

"This doesn't make any sense…"

"I know that,"

At this point, the dragon seemed to relax and had taken a more upright stance and folded its wings more securely. Its piercing gaze remained, however.

"Armin? Why do you think the dragon hasn't just flown away?"

Armin pondered as he studied the dragon as best he could from the distance, his eyes roaming its form for any answers until he found it.

"There," he pointed, "half the feathers are missing from the end of the tail. It can't steer at all."

Though the boys could see from where they sat, the Falka ever so subtly glanced at its tail where the blond boy had pointed to see its still mangled state.

"I think that's where I hit it." Eren said softly.

"Well, it looks damaged beyond repair from what I can see." Armin spilled out his knowledge of the dragon anatomy.

After that, silence took over. Only the sounds of the forest could be heard as Eren and Armin watched the Lethal Falka below, subconsciously taking more comfortable positions. Eventually, the dragon became bored of watching the humans do nothing and moved off to lie down elsewhere in the glade. The soldiers stayed, still watching. At some point, Armin had taken out that little booklet Eren had noticed before along with a pen and began to work in it. Eren guessed that he was drawing the dragon as the blond kept looking back and forth between the creature and the paper before him.

"It's a female," Armin said after a while.

Eren looked at his friend across from him, "What?"

Armin pointed though it made no real difference, "You can see in the length of the ears to the size of the head. They're the proportions to that of a female."

Eren chuckled, "Nerd."

Armin shrugged, smiling back, "You could do with studying them more closely." It was like an idea had suddenly hit him, "Hey… Why don't we study this dragon, Eren?"

This grabbed the older boy's attention almost immediately, snapping him out of his reverie, "What? Why?"

Armin's eyes were sparkling with excitement, "Well, I've been thinking about how you told me that it didn't kill you when it had the chance."

"Yes?"

"And it's got me wondering… What if dragons aren't dangerous?"

Eren's eyes widened out of disbelief, "Armin, are you serious?"

"Yes, I am!"

"But it's against the rules of the Wings of Freedom to let a dragon live, much less help it if that's where you're going with this…"

"Eren, you _did_ let that dragon live." Armin said in a matter-of-fact tone, "What are you gonna do instead, just let it starve? You're not gonna kill it, I know that."

Eren had folded his arms in a last line of defense when in all honesty, it made him look like a guilty child, "Then what do you suggest, feeding it?"

"I think that's the best way to gain its trust."

"I was joking," Eren muttered.

"Then you should joke more often as it makes you sound smart," Armin retorted, standing up and fixing his gear.

The now identified Falka heard the movement and quickly raised her head to watch the humans.

"She's very beautiful," Armin spoke softly, slipping his book and pen inside his jacket once more and giving a hand to Eren, "and it would be a shame to let her die so painfully, especially after she forgave you so easily."

Armin's words lingered in Eren's head after his friend left the glade, and Eren gave a final glance to the Falka before following. The Falka never removed her gaze from Eren until he was out of sight entirely.

"What do you suppose we do, then?" Eren asked, fixing his own gear in preparation to take off.

"I say that we come back tomorrow during our time off with some fish to feed her. That should be a start in building bridges of trust between us and the Falka," Armin answered, weeks of plans already forming in his head.

"You're calling it a 'her' already?" Eren teased.

"Well she is." Armin replied before taking off.

Eren followed close behind and they flew in silence, feeling the cooling evening air on their faces. When they returned to the village, they boys swore that they would keep this secret from everyone else as Eren had suggested, even from Mikasa. The aggressive, adoptive sister may be a problem for them, but they knew that if they didn't let her suspect anything, they should be fine.

"Wait a minute. Armin?" Eren whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, "What is our excuse for missing out on chores?"

"… You had a meltdown and ran away crying?" Armin snickered.

"Haha, very funny."

Armin and Eren had particular difficulty waking up the next day as their punishment for missing out on chores the day before was even more chores until midnight. Eren groaned, his fingers still aching from cleaning the leader's gear and polishing their dragon-leather harnesses so thoroughly. The pain didn't end there as Eren had to do his homework that Hanji had set him. Luckily, Armin let him copy his own homework so long as it was the last time as well.

"Armin, what do we have today?" Eren asked groggily as he ate his breakfast.

Armin rubbed his eyes, "Velx training with Levi then an introduction to the Deadly Evonna with Shardis, I think,"

"Oh, god," Eren yawned, "So much work today,"

"You can't go losing sleep like that, Eren," Mikasa criticized, "if you want to do any good during this course, you need to be at your best,"

"Thanks, Mikasa, I'll take note of that." Eren replied dryly.

"Anyway, we don't have chores today, so after a bit of titan training after lunch we have a whole evening of free time," Armin added, talking mainly to Eren. Clearly, after titan training, he planned to go see the Lethal Falka again.

Training with Levi was even more challenging than he said it was going to be, especially with the set task he had given them.

"Now that you've had your raw experience with a Velx, you are going to be doing a more delicate drill." Levi spoke clearly but plainly, like there was absolutely nothing exciting about this. "Seven Velxes have been released into the forest. Your job is to track them down and capture them unharmed accordingly."

The cadets lined up before him listened intently and somewhat nervously. There was always something more to Levi's tasks.

"There are two rules; first, no more than five nets should be launched, at any given point. Each shot must count, no exceptions. If you miss, the mission is a failure. And the other; your blades must never make any contact with these dragons, not even to clip their wings, understood?"

The cadets responded the affirmative.

"Each of you have been given a flare gun with one flare capsule. Fire it when a dragon is captured. You have one hour. That isn't a lot of time. Now move it!"

The students all suddenly ran into the forest, stopping only when Jean called out and grabbed everyone else's attention.

"Right, like Heichou just said we have only an hour to comb the forest clean of dragons. I suggest we split into groups of three to five, that way we have enough groups for a Velx each. Any objections?"

Everyone nodded their approval. Eren even recognised Jean's confidence in leading all of a sudden.

"Right, everyone find a group then set off!" Jean shouted.

"Wait, I have something to say," Mikasa raised her hand and the squad remained quiet, "… Just remember not to let the dragons hunt you. We cannot risk any injuries, so stay on your guard."

At that point, everyone began to divide and disperse into the forest, cadets often unwisely joining with friends rather than thinking about skill diversity. Mikasa was one of them.

"Oi, Mikasa!" Eren rounded on her as she walked closer, "Only five nets can be shot this time. You can capture a dragon on your own like me, go with someone else!"

Mikasa was about to protest when a monotone voice called down to them from above.

"Jaeger is right, Miss Ackerman." The children looked up to see Levi standing on a tree branch and leaning against the trunk nonchalantly, his arms folded, "If you wish for this mission to be a success, you will go with another more inexperienced group and take the role of catcher for them."

Mikasa frowned at first then nodded her consent before dashing off to join someone else. Unfortunately, some soldiers didn't stick true to the agreement of numbers per group and Eren and Armin found themselves alone. Levi however, found this somewhat amusing.

"Looks like Kirstein is good at giving orders but not at making sure they're followed through." He clicked his tongue, "You two better hurry up if you want to make a catch. Remember, everything is marked from day one. Better get points while they're up for grabs."

Before the boys could reply, the Captain leaped off of his branch and vanished further into the forest to watch his class.

"Let's go!" Eren shouted, dashing off with a furious blast of gas.

"Alright, Eren! I'm right behind you!" Armin called, following suite.

After covering a fair amount of ground, Eren and Armin decided to wait and search for any signs of the Velxes. As Armin scouted the trees for any indication of their presence, Eren listened carefully. They were warned to be careful not to be hunted by the dragons and were on high alert.

"Wait a minute, maybe that's just what we should do!" Armin exclaimed suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" Eren hissed, "Be quiet, they're gonna hear us!"

But Armin kept his volume, "Maybe we can lure them to us by making them think that we're the prey!"

Eren blinked, "You think we can do that?"

Armin nodded, "Not only that, I think it's the fastest method to catch one, rather than going on a wild goose chase throughout the entire forest. This place is too huge for that and Heichou Levi will want us to come up with the most efficient method of capture on top of a result!"

Eren grinned, "Armin, that's genius! We are getting marked on tactical thinking as well."

The plan was then set into motion for Armin to act as bait and make a huge ruckus as he flew along to attract any Velxes while Eren lingered in the shadows for an ambush. It wasn't long before Eren caught a Velx in the corner of his eye, gliding silently from tree to tree high above Armin. Eren whistled a melody disguised as a bird call to warn Armin who responded with another. A few seconds later, they were rewarded and the Velx dove down, talons erect to gouge into Armin's small back. Before the dragon could make any contact, Eren lunged forward and fired his net with a battle cry. The dragon was thrown completely by surprise and shrieked in shock. The net landed perfectly, fully restricting the dragon from any significant movement. Its wings were pressed to its body tightly while the forearms were left a little freer. Eren quickly fixed them up by bonding them with the remaining wires before gently lowering the dragon to the ground. Eren and Armin landed beside the beast and watched as it snorted and snarled in aggravation.

"That went really smoothly," Eren commentated.

Armin raised his flare gun and they blocked their ears as he fired.

"And it didn't require any real knowledge from Shardis' class yesterday. That was more hand-to-hand combat."

"A bit like a trick question." Eren agreed, taking a seat on the grass as they waited for Levi to show up, "By the way, Armin. What gave you the idea to ambush the dragon instead?"

"Hanji's class, just after first training." Armin replied, sitting down next to Eren, "We learned that Velxes are quiet forest flyers that tend to glide from tree to tree with their pointed wings. We were also told that they stalk their prey from high up, silently waiting before they dive-bomb their prey. Their shape and size allows them to move swiftly but quietly. When attacking or fleeing, they make sharp turns to gain the upper hand over their opponent."

Eren ran his fingers through his brown hair, "I don't know where you keep all that knowledge, Armin."

The boy smiled, "We should study together, you know, since we have our own dragon to work on."

Soon, Levi reached them and congratulated them (albeit minimally) for their rapid capture of a dragon. When the rest of the class had caught up, they then moved on back to the arena where Shardis was waiting for them.

"Today, you will get your first introduction to the Deadly Evonna." Shardis explained to the group, all of whom looked already tired out from the last exercise, "What's the first thing we know about the Deadly Evonna?"

Mikasa raised her hand and answered when she was given permission to, "They are either extremely rare or extinct as there is only one in existence that we know of."

"Correct," Shardis said, "and we are lucky enough to be in ownership of this one dragon." He then moved to the doors that held it back, "Classed as a Speed and Stealth dragon, it will be much easier not to get hit in this enclosed space, than outside as you will come to realise tomorrow."

Eren shifted slightly in his boots. He had no idea how to handle a Deadly Evonna and it didn't look like Shardis was going to be too explicit.

"I can only really tell you this;" the officer said, placing his hand on the lever, "do not lose track of it."

The door opened to reveal a relatively smaller dragon than the Velx and was so dark in colour that it looked like a silhouette. Its red eyes glinted midst the black ominously. Eren was stood to the front and could see it watching the cadets closely, unmoving. Without warning, the Evonna turned on Eren and lunged. He had but a split second to draw his blades and clash them against the talons that were aimed at his throat.

"Ughr!" Eren grunted, digging his heels into the ground to save himself from being knocked down by the sheer weight.

The Evonna was on its hind legs, its fore-paws raised and the talons pressed against Eren's swords which were crossed defensively. Eren's eyes met those piercing red ones and he struggled to fight the dragon's strength. The Evonna seemed interested in its opponent as it simply held the pressure against the boy. They remained motionless, save for a few shudders out of strain.

"As Eren just verified, Evonnas' are, supposing there are others, extremely speedy and erratic. Release when you are ready, cadet."

In a final heave, Eren surged forward and forced the Evonna back. The instant the dragon stepped down onto all fours, Eren swiped again, swinging his blades artistically to force the dragon back further whilst giving it a chance to get away unharmed. The dragon vanished.

"Get up high!" Eren shouted, firing his hooks and getting off the ground as fast as he could.

The rest of the squad followed, gas expelling in the dozens as each trainee left the ground. One unlucky soldier was too slow and was hit by the dragon like a bullet. It was unclear where it came from but the Evonna was clearly in attack mode and the kids were now at risk.

"This means that you have to be faster and even more unpredictable!" Shardis shouted, rushing over to the gasping teenager. He was winded and with probably a few cracked ribs, but the Evonna had gone easy on him.

The rest of the hour was made of a completely frantic game of cat and mouse with the Evonna chasing the trainees even more relentlessly than the Velx did and with more successful hits. The skilled cadets like Eren, Mikasa and Jean were able to react to the quick-strike attacks, wherever they came from, before being struck and deflected them with their blades. It was much too hard to avoid getting hit altogether by the Evonna as it simply moved too fast, but the kids learnt that their blades could take the hits for them instead. Shardis was impressed with Eren's, Mikasa's and Jean's initiative and added points to their scores.

_Listen, react, deflect,_ Eren repeated in his head, _listen, react, deflect._

An ominous whistling sounded to Eren's right and he had just enough time to raise his blades and turn to meet talons with a loud clang, sparks flying. The force knocked Eren back and he spiralled to right himself. The lesson was like that on repeat leaving Eren and the others on edge.

"It's so hard to track!" Armin cried once he was near Eren.

"You're only choice is to listen to it and move accordingly!" Eren directed.

This fact held true as the Evonna would get up to speeds that caused its wings to make a whistling sound as it cut through the air, like when the Falka did during the last raid.

Eventually, the lesson came to an end as too many soldiers were getting struck down, causing Captain Levi and Squad Leader Hanji to intervene and recapture the Evonna. The cadets groaned in pain and exhaustion when they were dismissed and complained further when Levi (deliberately) reminded them of their titan training.

"No less than an hour and a half of solid titan-killing training," he had said, calling after them as they trudged home.

Armin and Eren walked to the Grand Hall without Mikasa who had, once again, placed training over lunch and had left.

"And she gives me crap about not eating." Eren grumbled, "Honestly, I love her but damn is she hypocritical."

"It's just in her nature, I guess. Nothing you can do about it." Armin mused, "Anyway, we'll meet up after titan training with some fish,"

"Then it's back to the glade?"

Armin nodded, "Back to the glade."


	6. Chapter 5 - Forbidden Friendship

Eren led the way to the two rocks that were known as the entrance to the secret hollow, a satchel slung over his shoulder holding three sizable fish and was about to squeeze through when he noticed that Armin had lagged behind a little.

"Armin? What's wrong?" Eren queried, stepping back from the crack a pace.

The smaller boy was staring at the ground with his dark brows furrowed. His hands squeezed tightly on the satchel strap around his shoulders, his own three fish inside.

"It's just…" Armin shook his head, "No point. Let's just do this."

Eren nodded and proceeded through the gap to the other side. Once the boys were perched on the usual ledge, he scanned for the Falka while Armin searched for a safe way down that wouldn't startle the dragon.

"Have you found her?" Armin asked.

"Yeah, on the far side behind the bushes."

"Alright, follow me, but slowly. This could get really dangerous."

As Armin began to descend with Eren close behind, the boys thought that they could hear a soft purring sound, not low like they expected from a large beast, but at a higher pitch, like that of a bird.

"I didn't know that the dragons purred," Armin whispered as his feet met the ground floor softly.

"We're learning already," Eren muttered dryly.

"But seriously, Eren!" Armin turned to his friend, excitement burning in his eyes, "No one has ever heard a dragon purr because they have never been in this sort of environment with one!"

"Keep it down! It's coming over!" Eren hissed.

As Eren had said, the Falka had moved closer around the ring and was now exposed in the open. Although her legs stood straight, her head was lowered slightly and stretched out and her ears were erect and pointing forwards a little. It was a sort of eager and engaging pose. The long tail swayed to and fro, occasionally coming to rest on the grass before starting up again. Her wings remained tight shut.

"I think she can smell the fish." Armin whispered, his blood rushing uncomfortably, "Eren, I'm going to leave a fish on the floor in front of her, okay? Make no sound or movement,"

"Mm-hmm," Eren hummed, his eyes fixed and his body tensed, "just don't die."

"Gee, thanks."

Armin then slowly removed a single fish from his bag; his fingers slipping through the cold, sticky gills and raised his other hand before taking slow steps forward. The Falka's ears pricked and her tail twitched at his movements. She was conflicted, wanting to get away immediately, but there was a fish in his hand and it didn't look like the human was going to eat it. Armin heard the dragon huffing as she sniffed the air, taking in the fishy scent. At about half way, the Falka took a shy step back and Armin stopped. The boy slowly lowered himself to the ground and released the fish from his grip. Eren watched as Armin began to walk back and the Falka in turn started to walk forward.

Before the dragon reached the fish, Armin had released another one from the bag and placed it on the grass as well. When the dragon was upon the fish, her head now lowered and blue eyes fixed on the dead animal, she quickly but cautiously began to scoff the food down, hunger taking over all senses. Lifting her delicate head, the Falka allowed the fish to slide down her throat effortlessly and licked her jaws when she was finished. Armin had now laid his third and final fish a few feet before where he and Eren now stood. They watched as the Falka, now realising the full extent of her hunger, eagerly stepped towards the second fish and devoured it faster than the first. Her stomached ached for more and she was forced to trust the humans not to harm her as she approached the third fish, her steps somewhat skittish.

"Look away," Armin whispered to Eren who did so compliantly.

Seeing the humans turn their attention away allowed the dragon to feel safe enough to take the food. Out of the corner of his eye, Eren watched the Falka finish, but he didn't expect her to suddenly approach them with new vigor. Eren's gasp caught in his throat and he made a choking sound as he stumbled back into Armin. Armin squeaked as he fell onto his backside and Eren shuddered at the dragon's new interest in him. She looked at him inquisitively, her snout twitching and her head cocked.

"She wants your fish!" Armin peeped, "Give her your fish!"

Hastily, Eren shoved his hand into his bag and drew out the meat, thrusting his hand out to reach the beast. The dragon's eyes dilated at the sight of more food and was about to reach for it when she caught sight of Eren's net slung around his torso. Immediately the atmosphere became tense as the beast snarled, taking a step back.

"Eren, what's wrong?!" Armin asked, his voice cracking.

"I don't know!" Eren panicked.

The dragon's growls grew, alarming Eren.

"Is it your net? Eren, why do you have your net?!"

"I don't know, I-!"

"Just get rid of it!" Armin said, desperate to get rid of the rising danger.

With a shaky hand and his eyes fixed ahead, Eren struggled to undo his net from its straps. When it was free, he flung it with his free hand into the pond where it crashed against the water loudly before sinking to the bottom. Seeing the threat now gone, the dragon's expression turned soft once more and raised her head to its normal height, which was pretty high. Eren looked up to the beast and swallowed, taking in her massive height. Standing over two metres tall, she towered over the humans and Eren suddenly felt both awed and uncomfortably insignificant. The Falka looked down at him like he was some sort of peasant and cocked her ears impatiently. Eren realised that she was waiting for him to give her the fish like some sort of peace offering. Without even realising it, Eren decided that he didn't like the Lethal Falka's attitude. Little did he know, the dragon felt the very same towards him. Glaring, Eren lifted his hand to meet the dragon's head. The dragon lowered her head and Eren expected her to take the fish in his hands. Instead, the dragon lunged, bit into the bag at Eren's waist and pulled with alarming force.

"ARGH! ARMIN!" Eren yelled as he was yanked off his feet and dragged off.

Even if Armin had moved to help Eren he still would have been too late as with a flick of her tail, the dragon ran off with the bag clamped tightly in her jaws and Eren tangled in the straps.

"Armin, HELP ME!" The boy cried, fighting to free the leather from the dragon's mouth.

The Falka cantered around the pond hauling poor Eren with her, his feet barely touching the ground.

"Try not fighting it?!" Armin called, halfheartedly.

Suddenly, the dragon stopped, causing Eren to stumble. Then, with the strong muscles in her neck, the dragon effortlessly swung her head up, taking Eren with the bag. At the full height of the toss, the leather snapped and Eren was tossed into the pond.

"Eren!" Armin cried, running over to where Eren was thrown.

The dragon didn't flinch at Armin and instead began to invade the bag she had won off of Eren.

"That _fucking_ dragon!" Eren roared as he stood up, shaking soaking wet hair from his blazing eyes.

He looked completely enraged at the prank and was about to march right up to the dragon, possibly to hit her, but Armin was there to stop him.

"Please don't!" He wailed, "I think she was only playing!"

"Like Hell, it was!" Eren shouted, attempting to shove Armin out of his way but the boy grasped onto his arm and refused to let go.

"M-maybe if you come to a mutual agreement?!"

"It's a fucking dragon, Armin! A stupid fucking dragon that only knows to kill and eat!" Eren shrugged viciously, his teal eyes burning into the creature at the shore.

"Then why didn't she kill you?"

His words stopped Eren's fighting and the older boy looked down at his junior.

"She threw you into water, Eren, not rocks at speed. And we know that there is so much more to her than just killing."

Eren sighed and relaxed his arm, allowing Armin to let go. He stared at the water that was submerging him up to the middle of his thighs. He knew that what Armin said was true and cursed the situation he was in. When he was done watching water drip from his hair, he looked up to see the dragon right in front of him once again. Eren flinched, splashing water but stopped at the sight of Armin who was very relaxed as he looked up.

"Eren, can you believe this?" Armin murmured, "Look at how calm she is…"

The Falka had fixed her sapphire eyes onto Eren's turquoise warmly and reached her head out towards him. Eren reacted by lifting his hands, palms facing up when something warm and slimy was dropped in them.

"Eugh!" Eren exclaimed, disgusted.

In his hand lay a portion of fish that the dragon had decimated, covered in saliva. Armin laughed, thoroughly amused.

"I think she's saying sorry!" The boy giggled, earning a cold glare from his friend, "Maybe she understands us…" he mused.

The Falka bobbed her head and snorted lightly, as if to say the affirmative.

Grimacing, Eren looked up to the dragon; "Call it a truce," he muttered before wading through the water to dry off.

Once he reached the shore, Eren began to strip, unstrapping his gear from his waist and slipping his jacket off of his shoulders. The metal fell with a clatter and Armin followed suit. Resting his hand on a rock for support, Eren then pulled off his boots and emptied them of water.

"I don't feel like explaining why we are wet to the authorities," Armin spoke, pulling his own boots off.

"Fine," Eren grunted, "but as soon as the gear is dry, I'm leaving."

A shrill warble from the Falka called for his attention and Eren turned to see the dragon doing what could only be described as laughing.

"Insolent chicken," he growled before sitting on the ground with his arms folded and back against the rock.

Meanwhile, Armin had made himself comfortable on the rock Eren was leaning against and drew out his book and pen once more. Watching the dragon watch them, Eren listened to Armin's scratchings until he became bored.

"What're you doing?"

"Drawing and writing down observations," Armin said, not stopping for a moment.

"What kind of observations?"

"Nothing yet. Your staring contest with the dragon is keeping her thoroughly entertained."

Realising that Eren really had been staring at the dragon, he then turned his gaze away as if he had been caught doing something inappropriate. As he did, the Falka turned away herself, walking off to another spot before lying down to snooze. Still feeling somewhat humiliated from the fiasco earlier, Eren reached for his left where some stones lay, lifted one above his head and aimed. With a skillful flick of his wrist, the pebble soared across the cove and landed right next to the Falka, startling her profusely. The dragon looked accusingly towards Eren who faked innocence and she flattened her ears back. She looked comically annoyed, much to Eren's delight.

"Eren, don't!" Armin scolded fearfully. When Eren didn't reply, Armin persisted, "Go say sorry!"

"I'm not saying anything to it."

"Do it, or I'll throw your gear into the lake."

"You can't just-!"

"Eren!" Armin snapped in a harshness that was very un-Armin, "We promised that we would take this opportunity to study a dragon in a safe environment but to do that, we need to establish a positive relationship with the Falka and we can't do that if you go throwing rocks at it!"

Stunned into silence, Eren unwillingly obliged and stood, dusting off his pants and huffed. Offering one last pleading look towards his friend, which was returned with a cold stare, Eren strolled over to where the Falka lay, looking around as if he just happened to walk that way. Armin watched closely, a little more interested in Eren's strange behaviour than the dragon's. It's just like when he falls out with Jean and they're forced to make amends, only Eren doesn't seem to realise it. When Eren was a few feet away from the beast, he sat down cross-legged to show that he was no threat. The Falka observed him with wide, thoughtful eyes and waited for his explanation for coming over.

"… Sorry," Eren muttered.

The dragon gestured her understanding, blinking and flickering her ears. Eren sighed, feeling stupid for talking to an animal. But he stayed nonetheless. Eren's eyes wandered over to the tail which curled around the body and ended near the folded forelegs. The Falka noticed him looking and twitched her feathers, addressing the absence of many others. Feeling somewhat guilty again, Eren stood and turned away to walk back to Armin. His friend, who had been furiously writing in his book, looked up and smiled.

"I see you two get on like a house on fire," he said, flexing his stiff legs.

Eren was perplexed, "What?" He asked bluntly, turning around to come face to face with the dragon yet again, "Gah!"

Armin laughed lightly, "You didn't notice her following you?"

"Obviously," Eren growled and glowered accusingly at the dragon who returned the look with a smug grin, revealing those thin but strong (and numerous) needle-like teeth.

"Such character," Armin mumbled, returning to write in his book.

The dragon noticed his actions and raised her muzzle to attempt at peering over to see what he was doing. Armin saw this and willingly turned the book around so that she could see his drawings and writings. Curious, the Falka perked her ears forward and took in the peculiar images before her, recognising some of herself. Eren on the other hand was pretending that the interaction wasn't happening.

"I was thinking Siegfried," Armin said, turning the pages for the dragon.

Eren turned, "What?"

"For the dragon," Armin explained, "I think we should call her Siegfried,"

"You can't name it!" Eren protested.

"So what? It's up to the dragon anyway." He lowered his book and turned to the Falka, leaning forward a little, "How about it? Can we call you Siegfried?"

The dragon actually shrugged in response. Eren sighed, exasperated while Armin closed his book and returned it to his jacket pocket.

"Well there you go," he said, standing to get off the rock, "her name is now Sieg-Argh!"

Armin had slipped on the rock mid-sentence and was now falling. He braced himself for the painful landing but none came. Instead, Armin found his torso slumped over the broad head of the dragon who had braced his fall and was now lowering him down gently.

"Th-thanks, Siegfried," shocked from the ordeal, Armin stuttered once he was on his feet.

The newly named Siegfried mewed in response, a warm and gentle look in her cerulean gaze. She then lowered her head as if to make sure he was alright.

Armin raised his hand gingerly, "Can I?"

Siegfried responded by affectionately pressing the side of her head into his palm, eyes closed and ears relaxed. Armin looked eagerly at Eren, expecting him to feel the same wonder he was feeling. Instead, he was greeted by a rather envious look, arms still folded and dark brows furrowed. Armin sometimes wondered if they were stuck like that.

"Jealous?" He asked, teasing a little.

Eren huffed, "Like Hell I would be jealous of-"

But he was cut off when Siegfried huffed into his face, forcing his hair to blow out of his eyes. Growling, Eren fixed his brown locks. In truth, he really was feeling jealous of Armin and his 'blossoming' relationship with Siegfried. He never thought that petting a dragon could ever look so… cool.

"Just ask nicely, Eren," Armin encouraged.

Lips pursed, Eren turned to face the dragon fully. He then slowly lifted his hand, wordlessly asking for her permission to be petted. But Siegfried had other ideas. The moment before Eren's hand made contact with her muzzle, Siegfried lashed her tongue out and licked him, coating his palm and fingers in her sticky saliva.

"Aw, gross!" Eren complained while Armin stifled his laughter, although Siegfried didn't bother to hold back her amusement. Poor Eren was having a really rough day.

Eren rushed over to the pond to wash the spit off, kneeling before the water's edge. Feeling like he was being stalked, Eren flinched and whipped around, catching the Falka prowling towards him.

"Don't you even!" He snarled, chasing her off.

The boys ended up staying in the cove hours longer than intended as Armin studied Siegfried and her interactions with Eren. Siegfried let Armin pet her but no more than a hand to the snout for a short period of time. He was allowed to walk around her though, taking in measurements and observing patterns in her fur and feathers. He spent a particularly lengthy amount of time assessing the missing tail wing. He noticed that the tissue needed to grow and move the feathers had been completely removed, though the tail itself was fine and healing nicely. Eventually, the soldiers were forced to leave as the sky began to blush and their gear had been dry and ready for quite some time. They reluctantly returned home, leaving Siegfried behind and promising to return with more fish the next day. Siegfried watched them vanish once more into the crack in the rock face. Once she heard the sharp hiss of gas and the whirring of the cables on their battle gear indicating their departure, the dragon turned around and noticed that the taller boy had left his leather bag behind. Upon examination, she concluded that he had done it deliberately. It wouldn't be ideal to have to explain the gaping holes shaped like jaw lines that marred it. As the colours in the skies faded to the night blue, she patiently anticipated their return.

*****

When Eren and Armin finally returned, the cadets had all gone to their dormitories, but they were far from sleeping. After putting their gear away safely, the boys entered their room to find all of their male friends upright and wide awake, chatting animatedly with the main light on. Before Eren could even pull his jacket off, a tight fist suddenly smashed into his jaw, making his head swing down. He wasn't knocked unconscious or even to the ground but he was definitely dizzy from the impact and waited a while to right himself.

"Jean!" Both Armin and Marco cried at the tall boy for the seemingly uncalled for attack.

"That's for what you said about my dad, you suicidal bastard!" He spat venomously.

"I know," Eren murmured much to everyone's surprise. He slowly rose, trying not to faint, "and I'm sorry."

There was a pause as the small room of boys watched in stunned silence. It was Connie who then broke it.

"Shit, Jean, how hard did you hit him?"

Jean's eyebrow twitched, unsure if Eren was being genuine or just adding salt to the wound. He wouldn't put it past him for Eren to say things just to piss him off further. He was about to speak when Armin interrupted, placing himself between the two rivals.

"Please, Jean, he really means it." He pleaded, "If he didn't I'd gladly let you have him."

Jean looked down at the little blond, scrutinizing his wide, innocent blue gaze. If anyone knew when Eren was genuinely apologising, it would be Armin. With a 'tsk', Jean returned to his bunk, the tension in the room dissipating immediately.

Eren and Armin eagerly changed, not even bothering to take showers and internally sighed once their feet were released from their dragon-hide boots. It was like this almost every night. When Eren pulled off his shirt to replace it with his nightwear, he felt a small hand touch his back, causing him to shudder and flip around with eyes widened. Armin stood there, his brows a little furrowed.

"A-Armin?!" He exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch, "What are you doing?!"

The blond rolled his eyes, "Calm down, it's only my hand,"

"But-?"

"You have bruises on your shoulders from your straps, Eren." He moved to turn Eren around again and examined his back further, "How hard were you working in the arena this morning?"

Eren craned his neck to look and found, true to Armin's word, sore, purple bruises, in the exact shape and position of the straps that wrapped over his shoulders from the 3D Manoeuvre Gear. Armin was right in thinking that it was due to overwork in the arena with the Deadly Evonna that morning; Eren had put enormous strain on his body and he had the markings to prove it. It was as if knowing about them suddenly allowed his brain to register pain again and Eren began to feel the dull throbbing they brought on.

"I didn't even know they were there," he muttered.

"He's not the only one," someone said from above and they looked up to see Jean leaning down from his bunk, "I have them too, from this morning and I assume Mikasa would as well. It's a small price to pay for not getting hit by that Deadly Evonna,"

Armin sighed a little, "I guess it can't be helped. But you must get some ice on them or you'll be in serious pain tomorrow."

They finished changing, climbed into their bunks and lay under the covers. Unfortunately, the others were still in a talkative mood and didn't turn the lights off immediately. Eren and Armin listened to their conversations as they waited. The subjects changed from girls, to cadet's stories until Jean brought up the lessons of tomorrow.

"I can't wait to see what Heichou Levi has in store for us." Jean said almost boastfully, "Fighting with a Deadly Evonna is the most fun I've had in ages,"

_I bet those bruises beg to differ,_ Eren thought to himself, staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. The throbbing wouldn't go away and Eren almost wished Armin hadn't pointed them out. Still, Eren thought that they gave him some form of satisfaction and chose to enjoy the aching pain, much like the aching he got from a hard day of work.

"Seeing as we have only one Deadly Evonna," Marco mused, "it will probably be a race to capture it first."

Jean chuckled, "If I had my way, I'd chop its legs off and use its hide to make a coat." He closed his eyes, his thoughts wandering, "That silky black skin… All the girls will fall for me, clad in my black armour."

"Actually, it's the wings and tails you want, Jean." Marco said, his chin resting in his hand.

"Why's that?" Connie asked, leaning precariously over the edge of his bunk.

"If a dragon can't fly, it can't get away," Marco explained, "that's why we were taught to clip their wings and such; a downed dragon is a dead one."

Eventually, the lights went off and all of the boys fell quiet. Eren was sleeping peacefully and rather deeply, exhausted by his long day His face buried snugly into his pillow and his blanket was pulled up to his ears. His dreams, however, were interrupted by something very cold and wet being pressed against his face and he woke to see Armin peering over the edge of his bed, a cloth filled with ice in his hand.

Eren grumbled something incomprehensible and buried his face further into his pillow, attempting to wipe off the uncomfortable water. But Armin was persistent, and pressed the ice onto Eren's neck, whispering his name.

"Armin, why?" Eren whined pitifully, forcing himself into a sitting position and rubbing his eyes, "What time is it?"

"It's late," Armin replied, "look, I couldn't sleep. Something Marco said got me thinking and I've been working on something since you guys started sleeping. I need you to come help me and see what I've been doing."

He lightly dropped to the floor so as not to make a sound and waited for Eren to follow, "Oh, and I brought you some ice," he whispered.

"I noticed," Eren murmured, unwillingly tearing himself from his bed and silently cursing that dragon- Siegfried –for all of his sudden sleepless nights.

Eren followed Armin who, to Eren's abject resentment, led him outside in the bitter cold to the engineering house where a small, warm glow emitted from the workshop. Inside was a coal fire burning and engulfing pieces of metal that Eren didn't recognise. There was also a table covered in tools and a bunch of strangely shaped sections of leather. Under a bunch of candles on the drawing desk were sheets of papers covered in diagrams and drawings. Upon further inspection, Eren recognised some drawings of a dragon's tail with intricate detail put into each individual feather (of which there were many).

"Armin, what are you doing?" Disapproval evident in Eren's voice.

Armin pressed the ice pack onto Eren's shoulder who winced but held it on nonetheless, "Don't get mad with me," Armin said meekly but excitedly, "but I think we should help Siegfried fly again."

Eren gave him a pained look, "Why?"

"Lots of reasons. Want me to go through them all?" Armin folded his skinny arms.

Eren groaned, "Spare me,"

Armin moved over to the desk and revealed a drawing of a single tail wing and something that looked like one but wasn't quite the same. It looked to be made of leather parts.

"Mostly because the main thing about dragons is that they can fly and it's pointless to study a flightless dragon." Armin continued, "Also, I think it's cruel to keep Siegfried grounded when we have the power to give back her flight."

Armin pointed to the drawing of the leather tail wing, "This is my plan; to replace the missing slot on the end of Siegfried's tail with a leather replica of a tail wing. There is the same amount of 'feathers' as on the other side, all in their respective sizes and positions."

"How does it work?" Eren asked, giving up on resisting his friend any further.

"The 'feathers' are tied together close enough to catch the air current and ride on the wind. It is able to open and close with a light pull. See, if you pull the first feather," he pointed to a small one further up the tail, "it pulls the rest with it, like a kite but in pieces. This controls a dragon's steering." Armin answered, "They should be light enough to not hinder the dragon's flight and will hopefully let Siegfried fly again."

"Why couldn't you tell me this in the morning?" Eren stifled a yawn and switched the melting ice pack to his other shoulder, ignoring the water it left behind on his shirt.

"Because I need your help to finish making this before anyone comes in."

Armin and Eren then spent several in the workshop, cutting leather and stitching it together. Eren often complained, reminding Armin of the training with Levi in the morning that Eren was looking less and less forward to. As Armin did most of the work, Eren helped by doing chores that didn't need much skill or focus but did speed the process up. When Eren saw Armin finish the leather work, he eagerly anticipated going back to bed, but Armin said that they weren't done. He watched as Armin attached the leather to a hollow 'bar' of light but strong metal with complex springs inside and a small lever on the outside.

"What is that supposed to be?" Eren said grumpily.

"You'll see after training today," Armin answered Eren's endless questions again, "I just hope it works.

Eventually, Armin and Eren closed the workshop down and sneaked back to their dorms, careful not to wake anyone, and hoped to catch at least another thirty minutes of sleep before sunrise.


	7. Chapter 6 - New Tail

Eren woke up in a worse mood than ever, pissed with Armin and that dragon for his lack of sleep, not to mention he was flat-out bricking it for Captain Levi's lesson on the Deadly Evonna. If it wasn't for Marco's kindness, he and Armin would have slept in and arrived late.

"Fuuuhhhgggg…" Eren groaned incomprehensible sounds into his pillow out of distaste.

He almost dropped his face into his breakfast at the table, he was so exhausted.

"Eren…" Mikasa spoke softly.

Eren grunted in response.

"I know what you and Armin have been up to at night,"

Eren choked on his bread and hurriedly drank his water to wash it down, resulting in violent coughing and spluttering. Armin, who was sitting opposite, had frozen, his eyes wide and bread half way to his open mouth.

"Y-you do?" Eren gasped, wiping his mouth and feeling a cold sweat form on his body.

"Yes," Mikasa said solemnly, her eyes fixed on her own food "And you have to stop. Seeing that dragon isn't safe."

Eren glanced desperately at Armin who only stared back in horror.

"Aww geeze… Mikasa, I'm so sorry, I was gonna tell you… But…" Eren tried frantically to save himself from treading deep water, desperately attempting to decipher Armin's crazy nods and head-shakes of poor guidance.

"Eren," his sister said, shutting him up, "I know this course means a lot to you, but that doesn't mean you go sneaking into the arena at night."

"I- …What?" Eren took her words in a little delayed. Armin only shrugged.

Mikasa turned to Eren and locked eyes with him, "Promise me you will stop training at night? For me?"

Eren did said the only thing he could; "Y-yes?"

"Thank you, Eren," she gently squeezed his hand and smiled ever so softly before rising with her empty bowl and leaving the table.

There was a prolonged pause of stunned silence between Eren and Armin who both struggled to process what had just happened. Eventually they turned to each other and exchanged confused expressions, their food completely forgotten.

"So… No one still knows about our dragon?" Eren spoke quietly while emphasizing the word 'our'. His brows furrowed again.

Armin shrugged, his own blonde brows mimicking Eren's, "It would seem so. And it would also seem that someone is sneaking off into the arena at night for extra training. And Mikasa guessed it was-"

"Five gold coins I bet it's Jean," Eren interrupted.

He was probably right, considering the competition the course was creating among the cadets, and also the right to join the Wings of Freedom early if outstanding results are shown at the end.

Armin sighed, "I'm not gonna bet against you. I'm more concerned about you not getting any ideas."

Eren paused, his face expressionless as he processed his thoughts.

"Eren, what did I just say?" Armin snapped, distracting his friend from his reverie.

The boy shook his head a little and looked down, his brown bangs falling out of place slightly, "Sorry I was just thinking."

"That's dangerous," Armin commented dryly, earning a glare from his friend, "and I just said to not get any ideas."

Armin then stood, his empty plate in hand and gestured for Eren to follow.

"Let's go, it's Hanji's class next," said Armin as they left the hall, "and I hope you remembered your homework."

"Shit!"

"Good morning, cadets!" Hanji said joyously, goggles flashing in the morning sun, "I hope you all did your homework accordingly."

Each cadet stood in line, their homework tucked under an arm. Most soldiers carried abysmal stacks of two or three papers, Connie even holding a single sheet, while others like Mikasa and Armin almost struggled to hold their mountains in one hand. Eren stood somewhere in between.

"Ooh! Such promising dragonologists this season," Hanji mused, collecting the papers, "Alright, if you could all take a seat once I collect your papers, please, then we can start!"

There was a loud clatter suddenly on the other side of one of the dragon's doors, followed by a worrying bang and angry screeches. Every soldier looked on, expecting it to explode or something. Eren then realised that it was the door to the Deadly Evonna.

"Oh, don't mind that," Hanji laughed, brushing it off, "it's just Levi, preparing for the next lesson, don't worry about him."

After that, with the kids a little more shaken after remembering their last encounter with a specific black dragon, the theory lesson began, notes being taken as Hanji described everything they knew about the Deadly Evonna. Hanji would often ask questions to try keep the young soldiers engaged and tempted them with extra points for their scores for every correct answer. Eren thought that because they only had the one dragon, the lesson would be shorter due to less information they may have had on it. He was mistaken as Hanji continuously blurted out more facts about the beast. He also feared that he would fall asleep with boredom, but again, he was mistaken. Theory truly was interesting and with points on the line, Eren was encouraged to actually try and do his best. All throughout the lesson, Hanji was sometimes interrupted by more outbursts from the stables, the banging and callings becoming ever more distressed. It was hard to believe that it was Levi constantly working on retaining the Deadly Evonna and Eren could only come to the conclusion that the Captain was playing it, rather than having any actual difficulty.

"Who can tell me the top speed of the Evonna?" the Squad Leader said, looking across at the young faces before them.

Eren raised his hand, his answer ready, "We don't know, due to us only ever seeing one. We cannot risk losing it to measure its speed."

Hanji praised him for his correct answer and the lesson continued. Eventually, two hours was up and the lesson ended, the soldiers having received their homework. They then made their way to the open enclosure, chatting animatedly to their friends. Eren commented to Armin that he could quite possibly make the top score purely on correct answers in theory.

"Hm," Armin mused, "yeah, I do try to give other people a chance, I'm not really in it to win."

Upon arriving at the meeting place, the cadets found Captain Levi waiting somewhat impatiently for them. His arms were folded and his forehead seemed slightly more tense than usual. He looked as pristine as ever despite apparently having wrestled with a dragon throughout the theory class.

"Hurry up, brats, I don't have all day!" He said bitterly.

The cadets lined up briskly, saluting before their leader silently. Captain Levi cut straight to the chase, giving them clear instructions.

"All teamwork goes out of the window." He explained, "Today, your mission is to capture the Deadly Evonna cleanly and safely with no injuries inflicted on neither you nor the dragon. The rules are simple; the first one to capture it wins. You may not clip the wings. Doing so will result in all your points so far to be withdrawn and everyone will be on stable duty. The dragon's stables, that is."

Eren failed to calm the shivering his body was mindlessly doing and his knees actually felt weak. He truly wished that Armin had let him sleep and was now more nervous than he thought he would be. However, he took a deep breath and at least calmed his mind, setting his goal to capture the dragon first. Once Eren set a goal, neither heaven nor Earth could stop him.

"Fire a flare for me when you capture it." Levi looked to the skies, calculating the time, "The Deadly Evonna is in there somewhere. You start now."

The Captain rolled his eyes at the delayed reaction and waited until all of the cadets had left. Their gas disturbed the air and kicked up dust and their swift take off caused the adult's black hair to ruffle and fall out of place. With a noise of displeasure, Levi took off himself, chasing after his students.

Eren powered on, albeit conservatively. This challenge was much harder than how Levi described it and not nearly as simple as the rules were. The forest was huge and there was only one dragon to find. This dragon will be moving at tremendous speeds throughout the place and with thirty other soldiers out there searching for the same thing, the odds seemed almost nil. Eren launched his cables and sailed forward, swinging high into the treetops. Higher and higher he went, hopping and darting through the narrow branches until he crashed through the canopy. He soared several metres above the treetops and could see for miles around. Landing safely on a peak, Eren scanned the area, planning to map out the forest and devise a method to effectively comb the forest in search of the dragon.

"And I had trouble finding a downed dragon…" He muttered.

Eren knew that he couldn't waste precious gas on blindly searching and that other cadets surely would. The plan that Armin came up with last time was also out of the question as the Evonna would be constantly chased and would probably have no time to bother hunting an individual human like the Velxes did. Eren racked his brains to remember the lesson he literally just had before in search of any information that would help him in his capture.

"Damn… I wish I had Armin with me…"

Eren had to think fast to come up with a plan that would capture a dragon that was already being chased. Far off in the distance, Eren could see another silhouette perched on top of a tree and presumed that it was Armin or Mikasa. It seemed that everyone had spread far but not in a way that would effectively herd the dragon. Eren almost cursed Levi for setting such an impossible task. It was hard enough to work as a team, and now they were competing against each other. The Evonna could be absolutely anywhere. At a complete loss, Eren dropped down below the canopy and continued further into the forest, covering ground and searching more than anything else. He had flown a mile or so when something caught his eye on the forest floor. Loosening his cables, Eren dropped, the ground rushing to meet him and with a controlled, strong thud, he landed cleanly. Eren identified the object before he even landed and ran up to kneel beside a fallen cadet.

"Hey!" Eren shouted, shaking their shoulder and rolling them over to see their face, "Wake up!"

It was a fellow soldier, one of the less capable ones. Upon examination, his gear was broken and useless and a gash had formed on his forehead, probably due to crashing. Eren pressed some cloth to the wound to stop the bleeding and checked for a pulse. He found that they were only unconscious and were close to awakening.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

The cadet groaned in response and opened their eyes to look at Eren, "What happened…?"

"I was about to ask you that." Eren replied, "Can you stand?"

The cadet nodded and allowed Eren to pull them up, holding the rag to his head "I remember flying… And I think that something must've hit me… My gear was totally fine and I couldn't have hit a tree."

Eren thought for a second, "You don't think that you were hit by the Evonna, do you?"

The soldier shrugged, "I wouldn't say I wasn't. You should go and ask the others. See if anyone else was hit."

"Don't you want me to fly you back?" Eren asked, concerned.

The cadet shook his head, "Nah, I'll walk."

Eren momentarily admired his resilience before taking off further into the forest. If the dragon really was attacking the soldiers one by one, then finding it should be miles easier. Eren just had to encounter it before someone like Jean or Mikasa did. Soon after the first cadet, Eren found another being tended by a friend. They had a nasty gash on their stomach and their gear too, was trashed. They identified that the attack really was committed by the Evonna and encouraged Eren to go on, but to also be careful. Leaving the two friends to look after one another, Eren persevered, encountering more of the dragon's destruction.

Eren conserved his gas, knowing that, again, it really was the dragon hunting him, but still wanting to be found first. He swung around a large tree and almost crashed straight into Mikasa.

"Eren!" She cried, swivelling out of the way first and landing on a nearby branch which Eren promptly joined her on, "Have you seen the dragon yet?" She asked almost immediately.

Eren shook his head, "No, but I hear it's been taking us out one by one. Did you find it?" Eren's stomach dropped in fear a little.

"Yeah, but it got away." Mikasa's answer relaxed Eren considerably, "I guess it knew that it couldn't take me down so easily." She looked off into the green distance, "They weren't joking when they said that Captain Levi's tasks would be very hard. It's almost impossible to do this without some form of teamwork."

"Hm." Eren mused, "It's almost like he's filtering out the worthy soldiers already. I've seen loads of others give up without even being hit, or were taking their friends back."

Mikasa squeezed Eren's shoulder comfortingly, "Only the best of us will remain by the end of this, Eren. It's a race to catch it first, and I'm in."

Eren nodded and turned to take off. His sister's words were telling him that he had to get the dragon before her and not to hold back.

"Oh, and Eren?" she called before he could launch his hooks, "Be careful."

As Eren flew, he couldn't help but notice how quiet it had become. After flying for a while now, he hadn't met a single soldier since Mikasa and the dragon still proved to be evasive.

"How the Hell does one attract a dragon?" Eren grumbled.

He was suddenly somewhat thankful for the Falka, Siegfried that he would be studying. Maybe he could find out if it was possible to summon a dragon. Eren rounded a corner and came to an abrupt halt, for in front of him was a clearing of considerable size. It was about half the size of the smaller arena and the trees towered up like a cage. But it wasn't the clearing that stopped Eren, but the feeling of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up that did, sending shivers down his spine. The feeling of dread arrested Eren and prevented him from flying further into the clearing.

"Is it close?" Eren breathed. He couldn't be sure if it even was the Evonna, considering that they were masters of stealth, he shouldn't even know if it was there.

Taking a deep breath, Eren forced his legs to move and leaped from his branch, darting from tree to tree around the clearing. He didn't like the silence, or the sound of his gear interrupting it. Unexpectedly, Eren heard a light swishing sound, like air was being disturbed to his right just above him. He had but a split second to stop, pull back and draw his blades before him. With a loud, ringing clang, talons met swords and Eren narrowly avoided being sliced up. Below, he saw the Evonna flying away, its black, silky body seemingly merging with the shadows of the forest. It then turned off to the side causing Eren to lose sight of it among the trees. Eager to get out into the open where the dragon couldn't hide as easy, Eren burst out of cover and soared across the clearing, baiting the dragon to attack. As he predicted, he heard the familiar whistling of wings cutting the air. This time he planned to capture it, and at the last second, he turned to meet it. But the moment he released his net, that pang of dread returned and something darted between them, intercepting Eren's net and giving the dragon that split second chance to fly away. When Eren recovered, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"JEAN!" Eren roared at him, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

His rival smirked tauntingly, "Can't just let you have all the glory, Jaeger Boy!"

Eren was outraged at Jean's hazardous move and his stuck-up attitude to top it off. He looked down to see his net, unravelled and currently useless, falling to the floor, out of reach. He was now racing against Jean to capture a dragon without a net to capture it with. Growling, Eren moved to cover, watching out for both the Evonna and Jean. Jean was barely letting Eren have any chances at a capture, hogging the air and grasping the full attention of the dragon. Eren used this time to quickly retrieve his net from the ground and hide away to coil and reattach it to his torso. Eren prayed that Jean hadn't captured the dragon while he was busy and was relieved to see him struggling to avoid getting hit.

"He can't even get a good aim on it," Eren smirked, taking off to join him.

"Why don't you go back to the ground where you belong, Jaeger!" Jean snapped, seeing Eren rise.

Eren ignored him and focused most of his attention onto the location of the dragon, mildly pissed that he couldn't focus entirely. The Evonna's method had changed due to the extra soldier in the air and its hits had become radical and varied between Jean and Eren randomly. Determined to beat Jean and even more desperate to win the honor of the Wings of Freedom, Eren prepared to make a capture that would risk the skin on his neck. He could hear the dragon homing in on him and readied his gear. Jean saw this change and made the blind decision to barge into Eren, knocking him off target entirely. Unfortunately, their gear tangled as a result and now the two of them hung pathetically in the air like live bait on a fishing hook.

"Jean, are you fucking for real?!" Eren snarled, flailing to get out.

"Shut up, Eren, and get the Hell off of me!" Jean spat back, not making any progress either.

The whistling began again and the boys' hearts dropped.

"We're gonna fucking die, and it's your entire fault!"

"My fault?!" Eren shouted, "Who the fuck crashed into me?!"

Eren turned to look where the Evonna was coming from and braced himself for the painful impact. The moment the dragon was upon them, (it was so close, Eren could see his reflection in its blood red eyes) something interfered, just like before when Jean interrupted Eren, and the beast was sent crashing to the ground. Looking down, gasping, Eren could see the monster ensnared perfectly in a net, unmoving besides the tail swishing irritably. Suddenly, Eren and Jean were cut down and they too, followed the dragon to meet the ground painfully. When Eren looked up, he could see Mikasa standing above him, sheathing her swords.

"This may not have been about teamwork," she spoke in a monosyllabic yet cold tone that shamed the boys below her, "but that does not mean you go putting each other at risk and making this a competition." She drew out her flare gun and fired straight up, the smoke soaring up to meet the midday sun.

As if he was always there, which he probably was, Captain Levi revealed himself, landing beside the fallen Evonna, "Well done Ackerman. A clean capture fit for the Wings of Freedom."

"I had help with the fact it was distracted," she answered humbly.

Mikasa then saluted and the boys hastily stood up to salute the Captain themselves. They were regarded with a cold stare that made Mikasa's words before sound like honey.

"As for you two imbeciles, points will be deducted for your lack of awareness for others, particularly you, Kirstein."

By now, Marco, Sasha and Connie had arrived and seemed to be the only other survivors. Marco stood beside Jean, asking if his friend was alright but he was just shrugged off.

"Your gear is a total mess!" Connie exclaimed, pointing out the wires scattered across the floor and the scratches on Eren's and Jean's gear, "Were you guys making out, or something?" He then burst out into laughter with Sasha, upsetting Eren further.

"I'm sure Jean could do better!" Sasha giggled.

The two were stopped, however, when Levi stood before them, shutting them up by a simple deadly stare, "If Eren hadn't actually found the Evonna and diverted its course to him when he did, you would have been next, Blouse, followed by Springer." He then turned to the dragon and began to rearrange Mikasa's net and roped it in, "If you had looked carefully, there was a pattern to the Evonna's attacks, Ng!"

The dragon had now stood, wings still tied and feet were limited in mobility, but it still fought Levi, rearing up in an attempt to escape his grip. The Captain had attached the cables to his belt and had grounded himself. He wasn't going to be moved.

"It was taking you out, weakest to strongest. If Eren hadn't broken the pattern by finding it early, the results would have ended with Blouse, Springer, Bodt, Kirstein, Jaeger then Ackerman."

Eren heard Jean's sound of distaste at the thought of him coming behind Eren in anything and smiled inside. But then another thought occupied him, "Sir, what happened to Armin?"

Levi yanked the dragon's head down and forced it into submission, "That Arlert boy? He went back early. It was the right choice; the soldier knew when it was too much for him."

Eren released a small sigh of relief and followed his leader back with the remaining group, Mikasa by his side. When they returned, Armin was there waiting for them. The three went together for lunch with Mikasa actually joining them. They chatted animatedly, talking about both dragon and titan training. Mikasa expressed her thoughts that Eren should put a bit more time to his titan training than he does to which Eren did not object against.

"Sure, Mikasa." He replied, taking a bite out of his bread, "How about if I start at three rather than four? Is that okay, Armin?"

Armin knew that Eren was referring to cutting down the time they spent with the Falka, Siegfried and didn't see a problem with it. Eventually they finished and Eren and Armin parted ways with Mikasa to refill their gas tanks and gather more fish. Eren found himself waiting for Armin, his new bag heavy with more fish and cutting into his shoulder. When Armin returned, he had strapped a bundle across his lower back, resting on his gear. It was the tail wing they had made the night before. The two boys then left, heading off to the cove far from the town. Upon their arrival, Siegfried showed her anticipation for their arrival, padding about and tail swishing. Her ears were erect and her eyes were alert and wary, watching the two humans enter the domain. Eren and Armin then undid their straps and carefully removed their gear, all metal falling from their bodies.

"Hi there, Siegfried," Armin greeted, removing the bundle and his bag of fish from himself, "We brought you lots of food today," he said, approaching her gently with Eren close behind, "hope you're hungry."

Armin then took Eren's bag of fish and handed him the bundle, revealing the tail wing, "I want you to go put this on her," he whispered.

Eren frowned, "Why me?"

"Because I can then distract her with the fish, she trusts me."

Eren rolled his eyes, "Oh, and she really trusts me?"

Armin gave his friend a bored look and pushed him on, "Just do it."

With no choice and the leather in hand, Eren moved cautiously around the dragon whose attention was entirely fixed on the bags of fish in Armin's own hands. The blond then dropped one which burst open, fish pouring out. This got Siegfried somewhat excited and Eren could see her salivating already. Armin continued to talk to her, letting her know he was there.

"Let's see, uh… We got some mackerel, cod… Ooh, salmon and a nice whole eel,"

At the mention, and apparent sight of the eel, Siegfried's posture changed to one of absolute disgust, her ears folding back and her pupils contracting. Armin slowly reached for the eel and lifted it up which caused Siegfried to bare her teeth and back away while snarling viciously. Eren had stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do.

"You don't like it? Does it smell bad?" Armin asked.

The dragon looked at him with an expression that said _'Yes, dammit, it smells like rotting flesh and crap, now get rid of it!'_

Armin then quickly threw the eel away from them and then turned back to Siegfried, wiping his hand on his shirt and subtly gesturing for Eren to continue, "I guess it must taste disgusting also. Does it give a rash?"

Siegfried groaned like the answer was obvious and proceeded to devour the fish that had poured out in front of her, gorging on the meat and filling her shrunken stomach. As Armin was making light conversation with her, talking quietly and soothingly, Eren approached the end of the Falka's tail. Kneeling down, he slowly placed the device alongside the tail opposite the remaining wing. However, just before he was about to tie the straps, Siegfried twitched her tail, unconsciously moving it out of reach. This went on longer than Eren would have liked and he began to wrestle with it to get the straps around it securely. Once he finally got it on, he opened it out and admired the work Armin had put into it. It looked exactly like the other, just lacking the various gold and browns that the real fathers donned. Eren turned to tell Armin what he thought but he was completely hidden by Siegfried's wing which had opened up. Eren turned back to fiddle with the device making sure that it was snug and that it wouldn't rub. Then he remembered that Siegfried had opened her wings.

"Wha-"

But before Eren could even form a full word, he was lurched forward, his thighs connecting with the tails' wings harshly. Eren screamed. He saw the ground rushing away from him and he was rapidly gaining altitude. He could barely see Armin's shrinking figure as the tail swung up and down with each powerful flap Siegfried did. Eren looked behind to see the golden dragon taking off, higher and higher, then turned back, seeing that the mechanical tail wing was closed and was doing nothing to help. As Eren began to feel Siegfried fall, he hastily grabbed it and pulled it open. Instantly, the wing was filled with air and the leather feathers did their work. Siegfried righted herself and soared upwards, out of the cove and above the trees. Eren tucked his long legs in and gripped on tightly, laughter escaping his mouth.

"Armin!" Eren shouted down to the small figure below, "Armin, it's working!"

Giddy with excitement and the fact he was dozens of metres in the air without his gear, Eren heavily tilted the wing to his left and the dragon turned, feeling the wing lift her feathers and guide her back down to the cove. Eren never felt such control in the air, despite flying backwards on a dragon's tail. In a way, he felt freer than in his 3D Manoeuvre Gear. Skimming the water's surface, Eren could see Armin waving and jumping in triumph, cheering after him. Eren was about to wave back when Siegfried did a U-turn and threw Eren off completely, tossing him in to the pond. When he arose, wiping his sopping hair from his face (again) Eren looked in time to see Siegfried having difficulty staying airborne as without Eren to hold the wing open, she couldn't fly anymore. With a cry of distress, Siegfried crashed into the pond after Eren. It was at that moment when Siegfried gathered that she would be spending a long time with these human boys. Rising from the water and watching the small boy cheer on the shore and the taller one wade towards him, the thought of being with these humans didn't seem so scary after all.

"This is a major breakthrough!" Armin squeaked, meeting Eren at the waters edge, "We can finally get a downed dragon to fly!"

"Yeah, but," Eren gasped, stripping off his soaking jacket for the second time that week, "What do you plan to do with this… And… How do we stop her from getting away?"

"I plan to utilize this." Armin answered, "And I'll make it so that she can't fly without you."

"You mean like, controlled dragon riding?" Eren asked in disbelief. His friend only nodded eagerly. Defeated, Eren smiled, "Okay then. For now, we have proved that humans and dragons and live together in harmony. Now we are going to test what we can do for each other!"

Siegfried had now emerged from the pond, the water running off her waterproof wings in shining droplets. Armin immediately advanced on her tail wings to examine his device and make any changes. Eren then followed, having discarded his boots and skirt.

"Are you going to explain to me what those metal bits are?" Eren asked, pointing.

"They can lock the wing open or closed," Armin explained, "but I want you to keep it on closed for now. I don't want Siegfried escaping while we are away."

"I see. So she can fly by herself with this?"

Armin shook his head, "I'm not sure. I don't think she can turn it by herself. She might be able to but I think it might be limited…"

Eren straightened himself and walked over to Siegfried, holding his hand out to her, "Flying with Siegfried was probably the best thing I have ever felt,"

The golden Falka was looking at Eren directly, warmth in her blue eyes rather than mischief. She lowered her muzzle into Eren's open hand, feeling his gentle touch despite his rough skin. Eren marvelled at just how silky she was and ran his hand further up her head.

"The more you two get on like this, who knows what you two can achieve!" Armin laughed.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Saddle

Eren ignored the dull aching he was feeling in his lower back, exacerbated by him hunching over his homework. The candle light was dim, making it harder to see the paper and borrowed books he was using and the boy's face was nearly pressed against the wood of the table. He had returned with Armin after his eventful meeting with Siegfried and gone to titan training like Mikasa had asked and the three had pushed themselves hard during the hours they trained.

Though being born on the safe Isle of Maria, Eren had once seen titans when he and his squad were taken to the mainland as a form of training and introduction to joining the Island's army. He would never forget that week away, sleeping with his eyes open every night and flying his guts out to get away when they encountered the gruesome monsters. Though, in comparison, Eren did prefer dealing with dragons if he had to choose.

Eren had then planned to relax and get his homework done, ready for Major Hanji the next morning, but unfortunately it was chores immediately after training. Even worse, Captain Levi had caught him and had taken the opportunity to give him extra work on top of his assigned job; cleaning the toilets. Eren was left stiff and sore, blaming it on absolutely everything that had happened that day for his pain. Eventually, as the sun was setting down, bleeding red into the sky, Eren was given free time and used it to do his homework. He wasn't tired, Eren was surprised yet grateful for that, but being dark did make the job slightly more difficult.

Eren's hand hovered over the parchment, his charcoal pencil clasped inside. He had the choice to use ink and a quill like Armin had done, but he didn't trust himself not to spill the pitch black liquid and ruin everything, including his good mood. The rest of Armin's day went similar to Eren's with titan training and chores, but when free time came, Squad Leader Hanji had asked for his assistance with some paperwork, forcing Eren to study alone.

After another half hour of grinding out work, Eren, feeling finally satisfied with his essay, sat up straight for the first time in two hours and stretched his back while his fingers flexed.

"Hrnnnggg..." His strained voice squeezed out of him as his body twisted and released itself.

As he gathered up his things, Eren mapped out the next day before him. The first dragon training was with Shardis again, this time, learning about the Incit Navita. Or the Pernix Navita. Or both. Probably both. Followed by Hanji's class on them. Once Eren had gathered his papers and stationary, he left the Grand Hall to head back to his dorm and find Armin or even Mikasa. When he entered the boys' bedroom, he looked around but found everyone other than his blonde friend.

"Hey, Connie?" Eren called, gaining the boy's attention from his upper bunk bed.

"What is it?" The skin-head replied a little sharply.

Eren ignored the rudeness, "Have you seen Armin?"

Connie pointed out to where Eren had just come in, "Still with crazy Hanji. You know where the office is."

Eren nodded his thanks and placed his items away. He decided to keep his uniform together, should he come across anyone who was particular about presentation. Eren then left to seek out Armin again, making his way to the leader's quarters. When he reached Squad Leader Hanji's door, he exhaled a sigh of relief for not bumping into anyone else and knocked. There was no reply and Eren was hesitant to knock again for fear of drawing attention.

"Uh, Major Hanji?" Eren called, hoping his voice was heard on the other side of the door.

It was his side of the door, however, where the reply came from.

"Yes, Eren?"

Eren whipped around, his throat had tightened in a panic and a strangled noise came out. His eyes were met with Hanji's who was standing right behind him and had taken the pleasure of sneaking up on the poor boy.

"How can I help you?" They asked, but interrupted him anyway, "Oh! I bet you are looking for little Arlert, am I correct?" Hanji had a broad smile on their face which was beginning to creep Eren out.

The boy merely nodded, still stunned. Hanji then opened the door to the office and welcomed him in.

"He's in my spare room." Hanji explained, pointing to one of the doors at the back wall, "I said I would give it to him to use in exchange for helping me out with things."

"Thank you," Eren said, walking over to the highlighted door.

He then knocked and was answered with a small voice, "Major Hanji?"

"No, it's Eren,"

There was a slight pause, "Ah, Eren! Come in!"

The boy let himself in and was welcomed with the sight of Armin sitting at a desk with a copious amount of candle light surrounding. Upon the desk appeared to be sheets of paper, each with detailed drawings on. But Eren was more interested in what lay on top of the papers. A large brown leather object lay in the light as Armin's little fingers sewed into it artistically. It was a strange shape that Eren couldn't recognise at all and on the floor lay a tangle of more leather straps. There were small bits of metal about and Eren saw that they were joints, making the straps into belts.

"Armin, what the Hell is this?" Eren asked, utterly perplexed.

Armin sat up and rubbed his fingertips, "Don't get mad like you always do,"

"I don't always get mad-!"

"But I'm making a saddle for Siegfried."

Eren took a moment to let that sink in, "Why?" He asked eventually.

"So you can stay on, of course!" Armin said, "You can't ride a dragon on the tail!"

Eren took a hold of some of the blueprints Armin had devised, "So is this what you have been doing for the last three hours?"

Armin nodded, resuming his work, "Mm-hm, I took Siegfried's measurements when we were with her today and Hanji gave me this room to use when I asked. Though they think I'm studying."

Eren's brows furrowed slightly, "So while I was doing my homework, you came here to make accessories for Siegfried."

Armin gave a slightly guilty look, "Yeah, sorry I left you there. I'm sure you did fine. But this is more than just an accessory, Eren. This is an even more crucial tool than a horse's saddle," he drew out some more hidden papers, these ones were of Siegfried's whole body with the designed saddle and tail wing drawn on, "I have to think of a way to allow you to control the tail from up here," he pointed to where the saddle would sit.

Eren observed that the saddle sat between the dragon's wings and reached from the base of the neck and ended before the second pair of wings, somewhere Eren would call the lower back on a human. There were four main straps from the saddle that Eren could see, one around the neck that split off in the middle to make it wider, one that tucked immediately behind the wing and forelegs, one further back that would hold the back of the saddle down (and was conjoined with the second one in a way that reminded him of the 3D Manoeuvre Gear harness) and a third that extended from the end of the saddle in the centre, running down the base of the tail between the second wings before wrapping around the tail itself. It was all very elaborate and looked surprisingly realistic and believable, unlike the warrior women Jean sometimes drew in skimpy armour. Another story.

"So how does the rider sit on it?" Eren asked.

Armin stopped his work again and pointed, "You sit further back than you'd expect, your thighs almost sitting atop and along the base of the wings. Then you hook your knees around and tuck your lower legs up. See these stirrups?" He pointed to a particularly detailed section, "That's where you put your feet."

"This is all very serious work, Armin." Eren commented, "You keep pulling these all-nighters, soon you'll be throwing yourself out into the arena like live bait. Or dead, rather."

But Armin shook his head, "No, I'm not concerned about the course like you guys are about joining the Wings of Freedom early. Right now, I am purely focused on learning about the dragons and harnessing their abilities." He smiled up at Eren, "You can worry about winning this while carrying out my experiments and prototypes in the meantime."

"Huh? Wait, Armin! Are you saying that I'm gonna be your personal guinea pig?" Eren said, a little frantic, but Armin remained unfazed.

"That's not gonna be a problem is it?" He laughed a little, "Don't worry, if you get hurt, I'll do your chores and homework, seems fair?"

"…Fine," Eren pouted.

"Besides, you're one of the best! When is the great Eren Jaeger gonna get hurt?"

Eren gritted his teeth and tried to loosen his body so that the impact wouldn't hurt as much as it could. He still grunted in pain when he landed hard on his gear, the metal edge digging into his thigh painfully.

_Damn, that's gonna leave a killer bruise,_ he growled in his head.

Before he could get up and fly away, he was already snatched up again, the ground rushing under him as he was lifted. Eren arched his back harshly; desperately trying to keep his face off of the ground which would skin him should he relax. The Incit Navita squawked as it dragged Eren along before pulling up and releasing Eren to crash into a post. Eren cried out in pain upon impact and collapsed onto the ground in a piled heap with his gangly legs splayed everywhere, his backside bent over his head and his face eating dirt. The fall looked particularly bad but all Eren needed was a few minutes rest and he would be fine. If the Navitas would let him, that was.

Shardis' lesson was with both the Pernix Navita and Incit Navita, two dragons of the Stamina class while the Pernix specialized in Speed and the Incit in Agility… And they were both exercising their abilities on Eren Jaeger. It was a lesson supposed to be about teamwork in pairs as the dragons were natural masters of paired teamwork themselves. It was usually extremely hard for a typical soldier to work alone, but these dragons proved that even in pairs, people still screwed up. On multiple occasions, the dragons tricked soldiers into thinking that their own partner was the dragon and many boys and girls were sent to the ground in nets with apologies flying everywhere. The dragons accomplished this by the Incit mimicking the aerial movement of the 3D Manoeuvre Gear with its agility, causing the soldiers to make mistakes in their judgement while the Pernix used its speed to kick up dust, lowering the cadets' visibility. Failing to identify their teammate as a human and not a dragon, the unknowing soldier would then fire their net at the unsuspecting teenager. Eren was paired with Armin again, but he found himself alone, having his ass handed to him by the dragons.

"Nggrr! Armin, where are you?!" Eren growled, righting himself while rubbing dust from his eyes for the millionth time.

"Eren! I'm here!" Armin responded, rushing over to the brunette, kneeling down.

"What the Hell took you so long? I'm in agony!" Eren groaned, rolling his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry!" Armin said, hurriedly, "But I have a plan to ace this lesson, or, you ace this lesson, rather…"

"Ugh, what do you mean?" Eren asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes and fixing a weird tuft that appeared after he was tossed.

"Remember how Siegfried hated the eel that was with the fish yesterday?" Armin asked as a smile played on his lips.

"Yeah?"

"Well I was studying and I don't think dragons like eels at all. It's like a repellent."

"So?"

"So," Armin drew out the said eel from under his jacket much to Eren's disgust, "use it against these dragons!"

"Eugh… How do you expect me to do that? And more importantly, why?!" Eren moaned through his sleeve. The smell was making him nauseous after being tossed around a second ago.

"Well, I think that if you show a stronger connection with these dragons, taking advantage of their secrets that we have no idea of, you can literally dominate them! Make yourself out to be a dragon whisperer or something!" Armin put his hand on Eren's shoulder, "If you show success with these dragons like no other cadet, you are bound to join the Wings of Freedom."

Eren didn't take long before he sighed and knelt down to hear Armin's plan for the Navitas.

"It's so nice of you to come and watch the students' progress, Levi," Hanji said.

The two leaders stood on the platform outside of the arena, watching over the lesson.

The Captain heaved a small, short sigh, "Or rather watch them get their ignorant asses kicked."

Hanji laughed, "Don't write them all off, Levi-boy. Look! Jaeger is holding out well despite his partner making distance a minute ago."

"Don't call me 'Levi-boy', it's degrading." The man snapped but then returned his attention back to the teenager who was struggling to even stand straight, "Disgrace." However, Levi wordlessly enjoyed the onslaught Eren was enduring.

Hanji watched, attention torn between both the dragons and the two boys conversing in the corner. Levi on the other hand, was focused entirely on Jaeger and Arlert.

"I wonder what they're planning…" Levi mused.

"Hm? What makes you think they're planning anything?"

"Arlert is a strategist. He is obviously using this time to devise a plan in which Eren will execute." He furrowed his thin brows a little, "It's like he's willing to help Eren gain the most points within the course training rules."

Hanji didn't know what to make of Levi's words exactly and continued to watch the show, "Woo! Go Ackerman!"

As Armin stood by the closed gate of the Navitas, Eren sought for the attention of the dragons, provoking them to chase him. He got their attention easily as there were few soldiers left and he was already leading both of them around the arena where Armin stood. On Eren's cue, Armin locked his hooks into the ground and released a sharp burst of gas. A large dust cloud formed around the soldier, hiding him and the door from Shardis' view. Then Armin opened the doors before darting off. Eren then made his move, diving into the dust while luring the two dragons in with him. Shardis and the others watched carefully, waiting for the dust to settle. To their horror, the dust dispersed to reveal Eren under the talons of both dragons whose teeth were bared aggressively. Eren was gasping hysterically under them, his eyes wide and freaked.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried from across the arena.

She and the remaining cadets all turned their attention onto Eren and his imprisoned state.

"Eren!" Shardis shouted, immediately turning into soldier mode. He made to move down to Eren, already reaching for his pellets when the most extraordinary thing stopped him in his tracks.

Hanji gasped and Levi blinked as to the reason why Shardis had stopped. In the commotion, Eren had clipped a wing on each of them with his blades and then fired his two hooks, lodging one on each side of the Navitas' stable door. They were now trapped between Eren and their stable which was now open wide thanks to Armin. But that wasn't the seemingly mind blowing part of it. Instead of simply leaping over the wires and escaping from Eren, the Pernix and Incit were entirely focused on Eren whilst backing away from him. The boy had now stood up and, with his blades angled on either side of him, began to walk towards the dragons, his bright eyes fixed on them both. He looked truly intimidating.

Levi spoke to Hanji without turning his head, "Did you teach them to make eye contact?"

But Hanji shook their head, "No, only leaders dealing with the dragons like you can do that…"

The two dragons were snorting and prancing in distaste, trying to find a way to get around Eren. When the Incit prepared itself to jump over Eren's right cable, the soldier swiftly raised his sword and snarled at it.

"Get. Back."

To everyone but Armin's true amazement, the Incit obeyed and followed its fellow Pernix into the stable. Subtly, as Eren's back was turned away from the outside while blocking everyone's view, he then tossed the eel Armin had hidden inside his jacket at the dragons, forcing them into the corner to get away from the fish. Everyone watched as Eren then closed the doors with no problem. When he turned back, he saw everyone with the most stunned expressions on their faces, as if they were failing to comprehend what they had just seen. Armin on the other hand was giving him the subtle thumbs up. Eren pursed his lips and looked around as if searching for something to say.

"Uh… Sir?" Mikasa interrupted the silence, her dark eyes fixed on her brother's tattered form.

Shardis finally snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat, "Uh, ahem… Next lesson, everyone. And, uhm, well done, Eren."

No one had ever seen Shardis like this, not even Hanji or Levi, but they didn't blame him. Levi watched Eren and Armin like a hawk, his mind rolling over potential answers as to how Eren pulled such a stunt. Perhaps he would question Armin later.

"Well," said Hanji, clearly searching for words, "time for me to give my lesson."

However, there was hardly any other lesson to give as most of it was spent purely on Hanji harassing Eren for answers.

"Oi, four-eyes," Levi called, "what the Hell are you doing? Get back to work and leave Jaeger alone."

Hanji folded their arms like a child, "Hmph! Don't you have somewhere to be, Captain?"

"Tsk," was all Levi replied with, and left the outer arena to check on the Incit and Pernix in their stable.

Levi's mind was restless as he walked briskly along, his boots kicking up their own dust cloud in his wake. He knew that something must have been up. He was sure that Armin had to at least know something about the dragons' reaction to the boy, Jaeger. When he reached the outer door to his desired stable, Levi entered, not really knowing what to expect. The first thing he noticed was an unpleasant smell, bad but not unbearable. When he allowed light in to the stable, he saw the two dragons curled up pitifully in the corner. They were shivering and clearly in distress. The Captain trusted them not to attack him as he knew that they were far too occupied with something, not to mention used to having Levi boss them around. Levi looked to the other side of the room and saw the strangest thing. An eel, one of the delicacies of Isle Maria, lay fermenting across the stable from the dragons. Drawing out a tissue, Levi then used it to pick the meat up and examine it. The two little dragons squirmed and scrambled on top of each other to get away and became more frantic when Levi drew it over to them.

"And here I was beginning to think Eren was controlling dragons. Hmph."

"Eren, I think you have to be more careful," Armin said to Eren quietly as they ate lunch.

Mikasa had gone to titan training as usual which left the boys to themselves. Armin could see over Eren's shoulder and had noticed that ever since the leaders had come in for their own lunch, Lance Captain Levi had never taken his cold, steely eyes off of the two. This made Armin nervous.

"Why's that?" Eren asked, one cheek swollen after he had stuffed his food to one side to speak.

"I think Heichou is onto us," Armin said, poking his food, "I think he may have found the eel you left in the stable and now suspects something."

Eren paused then swallowed, "Ah…"

Armin nodded, "Yeah, so just try to keep a low profile and please clean up after yourself."

Eren then lifted his bowl to his lips and drained the rest of his food; a stray droplet ran down his chin and descended his throat.

"Ahhh," he exclaimed, expressing his satisfaction and wiping away the stray droplet, "so, off to the cove afterwards?"

Armin nodded, "Yeah, I finished the saddle. I wanna try it out."

Eren sighed, feeling the bruises already, "Fine."

There was slight difficulty getting away and it started before they even left the Grand Hall. Connie and Sasha ambushed them and demanded to know everything that went on in the arena from Eren. He was barely given room to speak as they would interrupt themselves going on about how amazing it was. Eventually, he and Armin were able to escape and resumed their way back to the storage to restock their gas supplies. They then made their way to the leaders' dorms to retrieve the saddle Armin had made and they were completely uninterrupted…

… Until Captain Levi showed up.

"Oi," he called, getting their attention in his usual informal manner, "Arlert. I want to speak with you."

"M-me, sir?" Armin stuttered, suddenly nervous.

Eren stayed beside him and was grateful for not being chased off.

"Mm." Levi confirmed, "Did you know anything about Eren's performance in the ring today?"

Armin barely shifted and instead composed himself. Eren could feel his own heart panicking in the Captain's presence.

"The… The way he handled the dragons on his own, sir?" Armin confirmed.

Levi then produced an old eel. The old eel. A cloth saved the man from touching it with his bare hands, "I found this in their stable afterwards. The dragons were acting… Strange to it."

"Ahn," Eren intervened, "I dropped it. I… Learned that they didn't like it."

Levi looked at Eren, his face expressionless as usual but that didn't stop the chills that ran up Eren's spine. Levi then turned to Armin.

"How did you know that the dragons wouldn't like it, Arlert?" He asked. Clearly he knew that there was no way Eren could have figured it out on his own and that Armin must have told him.

"I…" Armin thought quickly to come up with a plausible lie that would at least throw Heichou Levi off the trail for a bit.

Eren feared that Armin was going to get caught out, but the blond was too quick.

"I have been doing extra study in my own time, sir. Squad Leader Hanji can account me for that; I've been using their spare room." Eren was surprised with the excellent answer Armin was coming up with and stayed silent in fear of accidentally screwing up, "To me, knowing about the dragons is everything. So… You can add that to the encyclopedias we have of them; that they fear eels around Maria waters." He finished with a humble bow.

Levi held his glare on the boys for a while, deciding whether to let them go or not. He knew that something was up, that was for sure. But there was nothing he could do for now, nothing to accuse them of except for… Over studying. Which wasn't a thing.

"Fine." He waved them off, "Get out of my sight."

The boys nodded and hastily turned to get away.

"Oh, wait." Levi stopped them for the second time, "Jaeger, dispose of this."

Eren had no choice but to accept the putrid eel into his hands, "Y-yessir."

"That was foul!" Eren exclaimed as he waited for Armin to retrieve his saddle. His hands still smelled from the sticky flesh, "Why on earth would Heichou even be carrying that thing around with him?"

Armin came out, a strange smile on his face.

"What?" Eren said suspiciously, adjusting the strap that held a bag of fish for Siegfried on his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing," Armin replied, tucking the heavy bundle under his arms, "just that it reminded me of the time Siegfried gave _you_ some fish."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?!" Eren cried, but Armin had already taken off.

When the boys finally reached the cove (it was exceedingly difficult flying in the gear with the saddle) they were welcomed by Siegfried who seemed particularly pleased to see them. She bounded over, her wings and tail flickering in a bubbly manner and she cooed and mewed at them. Before Eren could even begin to unclip his gear from his hips, the Falka was already upon him, nudging him not-so-lightly with her head, using the fish as an excuse to just mess with him.

"Ack! Siegfried!" Eren scolded, trying to keep his balance, remove his gear and dispatch the fish all at the same time, "Sig! Siegfried-Ahh!"

Eren had been completely pushed over, his strength being no match for the dragon now standing above him. He scowled which earned what could only be described as a giggle of delight from Siegfried.

"Just let her have the bag," Armin instructed to Eren, "while I get the gear ready." He unpacked the saddle including a soft, pale blanket that fit the shape of the saddle perfectly. This was to prevent painful rubbing like on horses.

"Nngrr!" Eren grunted, trying desperately to push the massive gold face off of his stomach as he lay on the ground, "I would if I could!"

Siegfried was deliberately making it difficult for the boys and was having fun pushing them around. Clearly, she never knew how resilient they were and was fascinated by how they got up every time she knocked them down.

"S-stop!" Eren cried, his voice actually cracking. He almost sounded like he was begging for the harassment to end.

At the suddenly high pitch in tone coming from the human, Siegfried stopped and looked at Eren. She wondered if she had hurt him and his sharp cry was to tell her that. Seeing that he was unharmed, she cocked her ears in question.

"I'm fine," Eren gasped, "I just needed a break…"

Taking his words into consideration, Siegfried stepped back and allowed Eren to catch his breath then give her the fish. When she finished eating, she looked up to see Eren sitting on a rock some distance from her, and Armin now approaching her with the leather saddle she had no idea about.

"Eren needs you to wear this to stay on," Armin explained to her, "can I put it on?"

To Armin's surprise, Siegfried didn't say 'no' exactly, but the playful posture she took suggested _'Only if you can catch me'_. Up for the challenge, Armin ran after Siegfried with the saddle in tow, chasing her around the cove like two puppies. Eren watched as they ran, mixed feelings rousing up a storm inside of him. Maybe he was scared of falling and breaking something, thus sending him out of the dragon training course. Eventually, the Falka came to a stop and allowed Armin to tack her up with the saddle and straps. It fit perfectly.

"Hey, Eren! She's ready!"

Eren made his way over to Siegfried who by now had figured out that it would only be Eren riding her, even if the leather smelled strongly of Armin's hands.

"Can you get up from here?" Armin asked.

Eren looked at where the saddle was. His head barely reached the top of the withers. It would be like trying to mount a shire horse. Siegfried watched as Eren struggled to find a way to mount her without breaking a leg and offered him some help by kneeling down a little. Her knee stuck out in a way that looked like a sturdy ledge and Eren took the faithful step onto her and mounted safely.

"I wonder if you can come up with a quicker way of mounting…" Armin pondered as Eren fixed his positioning like he had seen on the blueprints, slotting his feet into the stirrups, "Maybe if you run alongside each other, you can mount her by running… Like a running jump…"

"Let's just focus on the flying right now." Eren said, looking around himself while Siegfried waited for him, "Uh… How am I supposed to steer the tail from up here?"

Armin then handed Eren a string of leather that reached all the way to the tail wing. It didn't look very effective at all and Eren gave it a few testy tugs resulting in a pitiful twitch from the device.

"I'm working on it, okay?" Armin said, "Remember, I'm doing your chores and homework for this."

Eren said nothing and turned to look up and around the cove. Siegfried must have sensed or felt his movement because the moment he did, the ears and feathers on her head twitched like whiskers and she began to walk into the direction he was looking.

"I think she's really sensitive, Eren!" Called Armin, already taking notes in his book, "Just trust her to trust you!"

"Like that makes any sense," Eren grumbled.

At his words Siegfried turned her head to look at him from one eye with an expression that seemed to ask _'Are you in this or not?'_ to which Eren replied with a sigh.

"Okay, let's do this." He said, gripping the leather rope tightly.

He then moved forward slightly, sat deep in his saddle and dug his heels down a bit, like he would on a horse. Siegfried interpreted this as 'move forward' and immediately responded, lurching forward into a run, bouncing a few steps before opening her wings to take off. As they flew above the wide water surface, Eren pulled on the rope to open the tail wing. Unfortunately, the tail wing failed to respond and Eren could already feel their rapid decent.

"Armin! It's not working!" He cried.

"Pull harder!" Was the 'engineer-of-the-gear-Eren-was-entrusting-his-life-into's' response.

"Ngg!" Eren grunted as he yanked the rope.

Unfortunately, this caused Siegfried's tail to be yanked out of position entirely and the Falka was tossed one way, leaving Eren to be left behind, both falling into the pond again. Armin had a very thoughtful look on his face as Eren, once again, dragged his soaking ass from the pond.

"Seems all I do in this cove is go swimming…" Eren coughed, "With a dragon for fucks sake."

Siegfried herself had returned from the watery depths and shook herself dry. Armin then assisted in removing the saddle to allow both it and her to dry, forever taking notes. Feeling like his life was on repeat, Eren removed his heavy clothing again to dry, when he felt a nudge on his shoulder blade. He turned to see Siegfried who had focused her attention on an area of Eren's body. When he twisted his neck to look and removed an area of his shirt, he could see the angry black bruises formed by his harness. The bruise was now bigger than the straps. Eren looked up to Siegfried, wondering why she would be interested when he was met with what was unmistakably concern in her expression.

"… I'll be fine, Sig, it's just bruises from training." Eren quelled her distress.

Even though Eren just brushed it off, somewhere deep inside of him, he felt genuinely touched by Siegfried's uneasiness at his health. A half-laugh escaped his throat; _dragons used to be the enemy, like the titans… Now look at us._

Smiling at Siegfried, Eren reached up and rested his palm flat on her face between the eyes. He swore he could feel her massive heart beat in sync with his.


	9. Chapter 8 - See You Tomorrow

To Eren and Armin's excitement, the next day was a day off for the cadets and they were free to do what they wanted, so long as they contributed in cleaning somewhere for an hour (courtesy of Captain Levi). Eren was awoken by Armin shaking him awake.

"Eren! Eren!" He half whispered as the other boys in the room took this rare day to sleep in.

Eren himself had secretly been hoping to sleep in too and catch up on those long nights. He groaned and forced his eyes to open, fighting the immense weight they suddenly seemed to be holding.

"Let's go to the cove," the blonde whispered so as not to be heard, "I fixed up the saddle and harness and I need you to test it out."

Eren sat up, rubbed his eyes and stretched, "Mmmnnggrr… Can't this wait until… Ten? Or something?" His hair stuck up in all kinds of crazy places, reminding Armin of the ears and feathers on a dragon.

Armin shook his head, "No, today is the perfect day to get more stuff done. Please, Eren?" He began to beg, "Please?"

Although Eren really, really, _really_ wanted to sleep in, he also liked the idea of spending the whole day flying (or crashing) at the cove. Without saying a word, he left his bed and began to dress. He followed Armin to the Grand Hall which was nearly empty save for a few leaders or cadets wanting to get breakfast before anyone else. Eren and Armin got themselves a light meal and no words exchanged between them as they ate. When they finished, they went to the storage to get their 3D Manoeuvre Gear, filled their gas tanks, stole more fish and went to retrieve the saddle from Hanji's office.

"So what's the difference?" Eren asked as they sneaked into the forest, looking about to make sure they weren't being followed.

"I added a mechanic that will help you stay on while flying." Armin answered, "Two strong strings attached to your belt with a metal loop on the end each latch onto a hook on the saddle, just in front of where you sit. They're easy enough to unhook should you need to dismount quickly. Just keep applying pressure to them and you'll stay on."

Sometime later, they were back in the cove, Siegfried eating fish out of Eren's hands as Armin fitted the modified saddle onto her. She didn't complain one bit as the smaller boy tightened the belts and even seemed eager to start. As Armin had suggested, Eren practiced a running jump onto the Falka, jogging alongside her as she trotted. It took a few attempts, but Eren was able to get enough momentum and used his strength to haul himself up. It was a little messy but it was something they could work on. This time, Armin attached the rope to Eren's left foot which was now stationed outside of the stirrup. Armin noticed how Eren didn't protest or seem so skeptical about this and could have even been mistaken for appearing enthusiastic. Eren merely leaned forward slightly and Siegfried was off, beating her massive wings to get airborne. She flapped powerfully, trying to keep up speed and altitude as Eren yanked his leg awkwardly to open the tail wing. Though they made it out of the cove, Siegfried suddenly lost control and dropped as the wing failed to open.

"Uwaagh!" Eren yelled, quickly unhooking his straps to save himself and was thrown off the saddle into the meadow in which they had crashed.

"Eren?!" Armin called, using his gear to follow after them, his notebook still in hand.

Armin found Eren flailing in the tall grass, pulling the soft blades from his uniform and hair. When they went to look for Siegfried, they were lead to her by peculiar purrs of delight. Upon pulling the grass away, they found her rolling in it, rubbing her face and back into the bright green sward and every other body part she reach.

"Do… dragons like grass?" Eren laughed, not taking his eyes off the funny scene before him.

"It would seem so." Armin replied, picking a bunch and observing it closely, "The soft blades and hard seeds look to make a natural and comfortable scratcher for them."

Eren grabbed a bunch himself then called Siegfried over, whistling sharply without even thinking about it. The Falka perked up immediately, her ears erect and stared straight at Eren before swiftly bounding over.

"Eren, did you just whistle her over?" Armin demanded with a look of shock on his face.

Eren, however, looked twice as surprised, "Y… yeah, I guess I did…"

Siegfried pressed her silky muzzle into Eren's hand which was occupied with the soft grass. He began to rub it over her face as if he were brushing a horse and the dragon closed her eyes in bliss.

"Did you teach her that?"

"No… I just hear the dragons communicating like that during the raids sometimes…"

Armin began to write in his booklet again, muttering things, "Maybe it's a universal form of communication… Or that their minds are more complex than we ever anticipated…"

Suddenly, he seized Eren's arm, a look of pure excitement on his face, "Eren! We have to try this all out in the arena tomorrow!"

*****

The next day started off with Shardis in the small arena. Apparently, he had planned to introduce the cadets to a new dragon, but something came up so he decided with a recap on the Velx. Armin and Eren had sneaked handfuls of that soft grass in, hiding it inside their jackets.

"What if we get caught?" Eren asked as Shardis prepared to release a Velx.

"We should be fine," Armin replied, "I mean, we're not breaking rules, we are just incorporating more skills into the techniques that our teachers have taught us."

Two Velxes were released and the arena was in turmoil as the cadets flew about to avoid getting hit. It took a while before Eren could get the attention of one, and when he did, he stood on the ground, dangerously exposed with his swords sheathed. Armin watched as the Velx charged and Eren (still nervous for his safety) reached his arm out with a bouquet of soft grass clasped in his fist and looked away, bracing for impact should anything go wrong. Armin grinned when the Velx saw the grass and skidded to a halt, its eyes entirely focused on the flora before it. Its snout huffed as it took in the scent and an unmistakable grin formed, suggesting that it recognised the plant and had missed this sort of grass for a long time. Eren looked up and saw the effect it was having and began to rub it on its face like he had done with Siegfried. The Velx dropped its ears and flicked its tail in pleasure, falling to its knees, so that Eren could reach easier.

Hanji squealed in amazement and shook Levi's shoulders in their sheer excitement, "Is that _tall grass?_ Oh, my god, is he-? He's scratching a dragon! … _It likes it!_ Oh, my god, it likes the grass! Where did he learn this? This is an amazing breakthrough, _I can't breathe!"_

"I _wish_ you would stop breathing," Levi muttered, unfazed by the Squad leader dancing circles around him and pushing him about. He merely glared at the scene before him.

Afterwards, the legion went to Captain Levi and his task in the big enclosure with the Pernix and Incit Navitas. Again, it was a lesson about paired teamwork and Eren and Armin immediately paired up (much to Mikasa's displeasure being stuck with a most delighted Jean). This time, Levi had released five pairs of Navitas in the forest. The thirty students had been paired up and then divided into five groups of three pairs (six cadets in each group, each individual cadet in a pair) which at first seemed incredibly confusing for the trainees but not as excruciatingly infuriating for the Captain. The words of insults came out in such quantities, Eren felt compelled to cover Armin's ears. These groups would then be assigned to a pair of Navitas each with the use of colour coding. If everyone in a group could contribute to devise a plan to catch both dragons, they would get points added to their scores. This meant that even if only one pair caught the dragons, the whole group would get rewarded. The rewards also increased on placement upon capture; first place gets most and so on. Armin explained to his group that if two pairs could go out and seek their dragons, they could herd them to the rest of the group while keeping other group's pairs away. Then the last pair (decidedly Eren and Armin) could lure the dragons to themselves and take them out.

"That way, we can cover the most ground and find them quickest." He finished.

The plan went smoothly, Eren and Armin being warned in advanced that their dragons were in the same part of the forest as them thanks to the other four cadets. Eren and Armin then used the high pitched whistles that the dragons used to lure them closer, tricking them into thinking they were fellow dragons. Much to the dragons' (and cadets') surprise, the Navitas were successfully tricked and easily captured by Eren who, with the help of Armin giving him his net, dispatched them like an expert.

"Although I hate to say this," Levi said as he wrote down the results, "congratulations on your capture." He then stood before Eren and Armin, his eyes dark and threatening, "Tell me how you knew they would respond to your whistles?"

Armin saluted, "We have been taking extra time to study them under Hanji's supervision, Sir."

Levi didn't look convinced, "Really? You haven't been testing these theories with real dragons, have you?"

"No, Sir." Eren replied, "These are all hypotheses we have come up ourselves in conclusion to reports and information in our library."

Levi dismissed the cadets and turned on Hanji who was grovelling over the soft grass Armin had given them, "Arlert tells me that they have been studying under your supervision."

Hanji giggled in a hyper tone, "Yes, that's right, in my spare room."

Levi's glare held strong, "Have you actually seen what they were doing for yourself?"

Hanji laughed, about to answer then stopped, "Actually, I… I haven't,"

Levi sighed, grabbing hold of Hanji's collar and marched to the Leader's quarters, dragging the Major behind him. Upon entering Hanji's office, he made a beeline to the spare room Armin was using and opened it, slightly surprised it wasn't locked. Although he didn't show it, Levi was disappointed to see nothing other than a simple, clean office with papers and books stacked neatly on the desk and shelves. He examined the papers and books closely, hoping to find something that would explain the strange behaviour Armin and Eren were displaying in the ring, but he found nothing other than dragon notes that he already knew. With a huff of contempt, he set the papers down bitterly and stormed out of the office.

Meanwhile, Armin and Eren were being swamped by the other cadets, calling out their amazement at what happened during training earlier and asking endless questions.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"The books don't say anything about dragon calls, how did you know?"

"I never saw a Velx react like that!"

"Can you talk to them?"

"Do you think Eren is like a dragon whisperer?"

"Maybe he's half dragon…!"

"Don't be stupid, he can't be half dragon! One sixteenths is way more realistic!"

Luckily, Mikasa was able to chase them off and their crazy ideas to allow her and the boys to eat lunch in peace. However, she herself looked just as curious to know what happened and kept giving the boys strange, accusing looks. She tried to persuade them to join her in titan training immediately after lunch but Armin made the excuse that they needed to finish their homework Hanji had set them yesterday.

Eventually they escaped back to the cove, greeted by Siegfried once more. She seemed to be getting friendlier with them each day, eagerly licking their hands clean of fish and waiting patiently for them to put her saddle on. This flying practice didn't go too successful either; Armin was still going with the idea of using Eren's foot to pull the tail wing open and, though some calibrations were made, they travelled further rolling across the ground rather than in the air. Tired and sore, Eren and Armin eventually removed the harness from the Falka's back for the day. As Eren lowered the leather onto the ground, he was nearly pushed over by Siegfried pressing her head against him.

"Hey!" He said, catching his balance and turning to face her.

He then realised that she was rubbing her head and ears against him like he was a scratching post, her golden head bobbing up and down against him. Laughing a little, Eren raised his hands and began to scratch behind her ears, digging his nails into her fur all over the back of her neck. She immediately began to purr, pressing up against him harder and her feathers twitched in pleasure. She sat down and raised her head, cooing in delight at Eren's touch, reaching those places she couldn't herself. Then Eren scratched just under her jaw and could only watch as Siegfried collapsed, knocked out by the wonderful feeling.

"Armin, did you see that?" Eren said, grinning, exhilarated.

But Armin was already writing in his book, "This is amazing! Dragons are just like the animals we are familiar with! They share the similar pleasures and dislikes and have so much character!"

Eren felt a bump against his legs and saw that Siegfried was thumping him with her tail, her eyes looking wide and cute all of a sudden. He knelt down and resumed stroking and scratching her, running his fingers through her fur and feathers.

"You're just a big softy," he laughed, thinking of how he could utilize this knowledge in future training.

*****

Eren didn't want to land. Eren really, really didn't want to land at all. It took all of his will power to defy his desire to not kill himself and stand on the ground in a suicidal attempt to see if a certain plan worked. The worst part was, this was his plan and not even Armin's.

"The things I do for Armin and that dragon," He muttered, finally finding the will to plant both feet on the ground and stay put.

And there he waited, his mind wandering to the lesson he had previously with Hanji. It consisted mostly of Hanji grabbing Armin and Eren by the collars, demanding information from them about the dragons and these secrets they were uncovering. Hanji had saliva drooling from their mouth they were so excited and eager to know.

Now Eren was watching Mikasa struggle to take aim on the Deadly Evonna which was currently demolishing the other students in the small arena. She grunted as she fired her net but the dragon was one step ahead of her and dodged narrowly, grabbing the net in its talons and throwing it down, rendering it useless.

"Uagh!" She yelled, quickly darting out of the way of its counter attack dive.

Mikasa's dodge, however, revealed a very exposed Eren Jaeger behind her and the Evonna continued to streak towards him, teeth displayed. Before he was gruesomely decapitated, Eren drew his swords and stopped the dragon in its tracks, talons locked tightly around the blades. He was pushed back several feet but Eren dug his boots into the dirt and held firm. The Evonna snorted, confused with his actions and opened its wings wide to add more power to its miniature battle against the soldier. Suddenly, to the side, they heard Mikasa charging at them, swords drawn as she screamed her battle cry. This distracted the Evonna enough to allow Eren to drop one of his blades and reach over, scratching the dragon behind the ear. Immediately, the Deadly Evonna's red eyes opened wide, rolled up into the back of its head and the creature began to moan and purr in pleasure. The moment Eren's fingers tickled it under the chin in that perfect spot, the probably most feared and definitely mysterious dragon collapsed like a happy puppy in time to stop Mikasa from blindly charging in and getting all three of them hurt. She stood there, looking back and forth between Eren and the dragon, panting and wondering what in Maria's name just happened.

Armin, who had watched the whole thing from afar, looked around to see even normal town citizens gathering around the ring, watching the strange events unfold in the dragon training. It looked like word had gotten out that some talented soldier was controlling and beating dragons in ways no one knew possible, not even the seniors. It really didn't seem a problem for Eren and sometimes Armin to be noticed by even the townspeople. If anything, it made Eren more successful as a student and more likely to win the course.

And the celebrity status didn't end in the ring. When he and Armin sat down at the table in the Grand Hall for lunch, cadets and townsfolk alike rushed to sit beside them on the same table and talk about their success in the dragon ring. This annoyed Mikasa profusely because not only was she losing quiet time to eat her lunch in peace, she felt that Eren was under thread at all times and became increasingly overprotective. She also may have felt a little jealousy over Eren's success but she would have denied fiercely if asked about it. It also didn't make sense to her; how could Armin and Eren be discovering these things entirely on their own by doing nothing but dragon study? Mikasa didn't really want to go sneaking behind their backs and snooping into their business, but she felt extremely compelled to.

After lunch, Eren and Armin retreated to the cove for more practice. Again, it wasn't very successful; Armin had made changes to the saddle and tail wing that allowed the string connecting them to be held closer along Siegfried's body. However, Eren still had difficulty keeping balance, watching where he was going and controlling the wing at the same time with one foot out of the stirrup. He often found himself slipping off the saddle and dragging Siegfried along with him as his weight and awkward position off her shoulder caused the Falka to lose balance and crash. The fourth time this happened, Siegfried became bored and deliberately landed on Eren, resting her shoulder and wing on his body, trapping him completely.

"Augh!" Eren grunted, trying to crawl out from under her, "Get… Off… Sig!"

He was then rewarded with a lick to the back of his head, leaving his hair standing up hilariously at the back and an angry look on his face. When Armin finished making notes, he walked over to them to help Eren out when their 3D Manoeuvre Gear slipped from the rock it was leaning against and caused the sunlight it was basking in to reflect onto the ground several feet in front of Siegfried. The Falka's head snapped to the patch of light, her eyes diluted and before Eren could do anything, he was being dragged along by Siegfried over to the glowing patch of grass.

"Siegfried, for fuck's sake, stop!" Eren growled, fighting to free himself from the saddle.

As Eren began to wrestle with the dragon, Armin, noticing Siegfried's reaction to the light, returned to the gear and lifted it, shining the patch of light a few feet away. By now, Eren had luckily escaped in time to not be dragged any further with the Falka as she immediately pounced on it, chasing it like a cat would with a toy.

"Eren, watch this," Armin grinned, trying to hold back laughter.

He drew a blade from the gear and moved the rest of it away into the shade. Then, sitting down in the light, Armin held the blade to face the sun and angled it to shine onto the cove floor next to Siegfried. The Falka looked around when the light momentarily disappeared but she immediately found it the moment it returned. The boys watched, highly amused as Armin flashed the light around the cove and Siegfried chased after it, pawing the ground when it stopped and pouncing like she was playing with her prey.

The two young soldiers cracked into laughter at the games they were playing with Siegfried, teasing her and letting her chase her own tail for their entertainment. However, it didn't seem one-sided as Siegfried looked thoroughly satisfied after nearly forty minutes of chasing light.

*****

"Meet, the Lural," Shardis said as a short and rather elongated dragon emerged from its stable, "classed as an Agility and Stealth dragon, it mostly glides from tree to tree whilst running along branches."

The students set off, struggling to get a clear shot on the dragon for it kept close to the posts, and hid behind them.

"It is also the only dragon that can climb down trees headfirst!" Shardis continued.

Jean was flying along when he was unexpectedly pounced upon by it and was sent crashing to the ground. When he looked up, it was already gone. Connie laughed at Jean's fumbling, making the tall boy fume with anger.

"Haha!" Connie chortled, "It's such a stupid shape and looks more like a lizar-Augh!"

The boy was then tackled mid-sentence as the Lural pounced on him using its stealth abilities and pinned him to the ground. Connie, in a desperate attempt to protect himself, drew his arms up to his face. The Lural simply began to chew on him.

"Auugh! Aggh! Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt, oh god!" Connie cried.

Suddenly, something distracted the Lural from Connie and the students watched as it pounced and prowled back and forth away from the safety of the posts, following a concentrated patch of reflected light. Eren, who was perched safely on top of a post, was reflecting the sunlight from his sword, directly to the ground below, capturing the Lural's attention like a cat with a toy, just like he had with Siegfried. This gave Connie enough time to get away and as soon as the dragon was fully exposed, Eren fired his net, making a quick and clean capture.

"Nice one," Armin commented to which Eren returned with a smile.

As Mikasa watched in disbelief, Jean appeared behind her and made a discourteous comment, "Wow, he's better than you ever were."

Mikasa returned this with a punch to the gut. This was half true if Mikasa was being honest; no one could kill or dispatch as many dragons as Mikasa could in one night. But Eren was proving to be the best dragon catcher ever on top of showing potential for being a great dragonologist like Armin and Hanji. He can't just be figuring all this out by studying, can he?

After training, when all the soldiers were heading to the Great Hall for lunch, Mikasa was approached by Captain Levi.

"Ackerman,"

Mikasa saluted, "Captain Levi, sir."

Although Levi had to look up at the girl, his glare made her feel vastly inferior, "Am I correct in presuming that you are close with Jaeger and Arlert?"

Mikasa replied promptly, "Yes, sir."

Levi folded his arms, "I have my doubts about those two. I want you to keep a close eye on them for me, find out where they are going in the afternoons and what is keeping them busy for so many hours."

Mikasa looked troubled, "Ah, but sir, won't I be going behind their backs?"

"Can I trust you, Ackerman?" Levi pressed, ignoring her protests.

The girl sighed ever so lightly, defeated, "Yes, sir."

After lunch, Mikasa tried to approach Eren and Armin. She wanted to be as honest with them as possible without causing them to turn on her.

"Eren? Where are you two going now?" She asked as softly as she could without making him feel accused.

"Erm," Eren tried to come up with a believable bluff, "Armin and I go for a fly around the island for a place to study."

"Can I come?" Mikasa asked.

Eren began to sweat nervously, wondering what was making Mikasa so interested in their activities, "Uh, don't you, um, have titan training?"

Mikasa shook her head and fiddled with her scarf. She hated lying to Eren, but what if he was lying to her? "I want to study with you and Armin. See what you are doing that makes you so successful in the ring. Then we can do titan training together afterwards. Isn't that okay?"

Eren began to panic and rubbed his upper arm nervously, "Well, um, you don't really want to come, Mikasa. Armin and I… We… We talk a lot about guy stuff, uhh, you really don't want to be a part of this…" Eren tried to hide his blush and failed miserably. He had to put Mikasa off, even if it meant saying the most awkward things.

Mikasa blinked, unfazed, "That's okay. I'm not bothered."

_Shit._

"Ah! It gets really gross, Mikasa!" Eren held his hands up in front of him defensively, "Like, sex and stuff! And you don't wanna know the embarrassing things Armin and I share with each other!"

Mikasa quirked an eyebrow, "… You're not dating each other, are you?" That would explain the secrecy at least.

Eren wanted to die right there, "W-wha?! N-no! No, no! Not at all, we- oh god, no! Mikasa it's not what you think!"

His sister cut him off, "Fine, whatever. Go do whatever it is you do. I won't ask again."

Eren watched as Mikasa walked away, probably off to do some more titan training or something. When Armin arrived with the gear, he saw the distress on Eren's face and asked what was wrong. The brunette just hastily brushed him off and left the town in a hurry, Armin straggling behind.

*****

As Eren fed Siegfried, Armin made some more adjustments to the gear, attaching a string from the tail wing to the left stirrup and looping it through various intervals on the saddle along the body that then held the string close and out of the way. He had even added some straps along the tail to prevent the string from coming loose and risking it being snagged. Siegfried didn't seem to mind at all which meant that Armin did a good job in his improvements.

"So, how so I steer now?" Eren asked, observing the changes.

Armin took hold of the left stirrup and tilted it, the heel pulling the string as it lifted up, down and around, "Flexing your ankle will pull this mechanism which will control the tail wing's position."

As he moved the stirrup, true to his words, the tail wing opened and closed, waggling like a real part of the Falka.

"I really think that this will work today but I want to keep you secured so we can study the wing positions," Armin explained, packing his things.

"How do you expect to keep us secured?" Eren asked.

"There's a cliff I want to take you to. If Siegfried opens her wings, the wind coming off the ocean with lift her up. Then we can keep her tied in place while still remaining airborne."

Eren wasn't too sure what Armin meant but he followed him anyway, the two of them helping Siegfried out on the cove and leading her to the cliff. It was a cool afternoon and the sea breeze was welcoming to them, particularly Siegfried who faced the wind and allowed it to comb through her feathers. Armin had been studying aerodynamics and flight physics so he knew how the dragons were able to stay airborne and most of the aerial manoeuvres they could execute. There was a half-buried log close to the cliff edge which Armin secured Siegfried to using the breast strap on her saddle. Then he instructed Eren to mount her and open the tail wing. Eren did so, flexing his foot and Siegfried immediately responded, opening her own wings and allowing the oncoming wind to lift her thin body up. Just as Armin had said, Siegfried soared motionless above the ground, the string holding her in place as the wind pushed her back.

Armin made notes as Eren flexed his foot in different positions, causing Siegfried to respond in different ways. They were there for so long, the sun was beginning to sink when suddenly, the rope snapped and Eren and Siegfried were sent flying back into the forest, the both of them crying out as they crashed.

"Eren!" Armin called, "Are you hurt?"

The small soldier ran after them to find the two tangled up in a heap on the forest floor. Siegfried then rolled over and righted herself, unfortunately dragging Eren with her as the safety straps were still stuck to the saddle.

"Uwagh!" Eren yelped as his waist was dragged up to the Falka's shoulders.

Siegfried was too tall for Eren's feet to reach the ground and he dangled precariously as he tried to right himself.

"Ugh! Siegfried, stop!" Eren cried.

Armin tried to offer help but it was no use. Eren balanced himself by grabbing hold of Siegfried's wing which stopped him from rotating, but his belt continued to dig into his waist.

"Uhh… Siegfried, kneel down!" Armin instructed, pointing to the ground at Siegfried's feet.

The dragon complied, dropping her knees to allow Eren's feet to reach the floor. Eren fixed his jacket and righted himself, thanking Siegfried and assessed the problem.

"Oh, great…" he groaned.

Tugging on his safety strap, it was clear what had happened; the crash had dented one of the hooks shut and now Eren was stuck, strapped to Siegfried's saddle.

"Hmm…" Armin mused, assessing the situation.

But no matter how hard he thought, there was no way to separate them easily without risking either one's safety. The straps and harnesses on both of them could easily be pulled badly half way of being removed and could result in seriously injuring them.

"Do you have any tool here, Armin?" Eren asked hopefully.

But the blonde shook his head, "No, none of them are heavy enough to do the job. We have to go into the town and sneak into the tool shed."

"What!? Why!?" Eren cried out in disbelief.

"There's no other way, Eren! Come one, we don't have much time!"

Eren groaned before directing Siegfried to follow Armin. They decided against letting Siegfried fly after Armin, so she had to gallop across the forest floor while Eren rode atop, watching Armin as he darted from tree to tree. By the time they made it back to the town, the sun had set and most soldiers had returned to their dormitories. A few seniors patrolled the facilities. Eren and Armin stuck close to the shadows, guiding Siegfried to the workshop and avoiding as many lit up areas as possible. It wasn't easy as Siegfried was seriously confused and was distracted by everything. It was the first time she had visited the town without participating in raiding it and she was a little uneasy. But Armin and Eren stayed calm and collected as they guided Siegfried through. It was crucial that they were not caught for if they were it would all be over. Eventually, they made it to the work shop and sneaked in, Armin immediately searching for a tool that would pry the metal hook open again. When Armin's strength failed, Eren tried, still sitting in the saddle, his long legs dangling beside Siegfried's as he worked to bend the metal. Siegfried was getting bored as she stood waiting and allowed herself to move around, sniffing the entire workshop and examining all of the foreign objects. Eren and Armin had no problem with this, until she kicked over a bucket and spilled a bunch of noisy tools to the floor, clattering loudly.

"Eren, would you control her?!" Armin hissed.

Eren struggled to pull Siegfried away from the mess, "Kinda busy over here!" Eren snapped back.

Armin was about to argue further when someone they really didn't want to see called out from outside the workshop.

"Who's there?" Captain Levi demanded.

Eren and Armin looked at each other as if the world was falling around them.

"You get out of here while I distract him!" Armin whispered to Eren who nodded and led Siegfried to find a back entrance.

Before Captain Levi could open the workshop to reveal the shenanigans going on inside, Armin burst out, blocking Levi's view and closing the doors behind him. Levi stepped back a bit, creating space between the two and scrutinized Armin harshly.

"H-hello, Levi Heichou!" Armin stammered, saluting, "Good evening."

"Arlert, what are you doing in the workshop at this hour?" Levi interrogated coldly.

Armin fixed his uniform, "I remembered that I had left some parts from my gear earlier and came back to collect them. I was doing some maintenance on them you see,"

Levi's eyes narrowed and his lips tightened, "Fully dressed, I see,"

Armin knew he was referring to everything, including the harness and the gear currently around his waist. The boy shuffled uncomfortable and opened his mouth to explain when he was cut off.

"Well, since you're so eager for work you are now on night watch."

Over Levi's shoulder in the darkness, Armin could faintly see Siegfried and Eren quickly and quietly making their escape, vanishing into the night. The boy exhaled a little sigh of relief.

"Did you hear me, cadet?" Levi snapped.

"Huh?! Oh! Yes sir!" Armin recovered and saluted.

With nothing more to discuss and too tired to make a fuss, Captain Levi turned and left Armin to return to the senior quarters. Even though Armin knew he was getting no sleep that night, it was all worth it to keep their secret safe. And it was a good thing too, for Commander Erwin and the rest of the senior squads finally returned that following morning.


	10. Chapter 9 - Test Drive

The ships were a wreck as they chugged slowly into the docks, the black steam rising ominously from the funnels, some even struggling to stay afloat. There were massive dents all along the railings and all visible metal was laced with claw marks. Unfortunately, the damage to the boats didn't quite match the damage to the soldiers; over half of them carried injuries to varying degrees while a significant proportion seemed to be missing altogether. Levi, Hanji and Shardis all waited patiently for the boats to stop, standing to attention as they did so. Commander Erwin was the first to disembark, and motioned for his officers to follow. The three leaders watched in concern for their esteemed Commander as they followed him through the docks. Although his face was stoic, it was all a mask to hide the horrors he had witnessed for the past few weeks. He had clearly seen far too many men of his own die, and no matter how many times he would do this to himself, it would still hit him like a Falka's talons to the heart every time. Captain Levi opened his mouth to ask how the mission went, but Erwin answered him before he even spoke.

"Not even close." Erwin spoke, his voice dark and tired, "And an estimated fifty-seven percent of our men injured and a possible twenty-eight K.I.A."

Levi, Hanji and Shardis lowered their heads at the devastating news. Despite the loss, however, when Erwin and his men finally reached the top of the cliff on the edge of town, the entire populations of townspeople were there to welcome them home. They knew that many lives will have been lost and tears of grief will shed for days to come, but the citizens swallowed their pain and applauded their chief protector as he marched through the street.

"Commander!" Someone called form the horde.

Erwin stopped in his tracks as a single woman emerged and ran towards him.

"We have such high hopes for our young soldiers this year!" She said, excitement and optimism shining through the sadness in her almond eyes.

A bearded man joined her, "Aye! That Jaeger boy is restoring faith throughout the whole town!"

"Please congratulate your officers for their amazing effort in training these wonderful cadets so well!" Another woman shouted.

"Tch. I wouldn't say 'wonderful'," Levi muttered.

Erwin turned to the three behind him as the villagers and soldiers dispersed, "Jaeger?" He asked, raising an impressive eyebrow.

Levi continued to walk, forcing his cohorts to follow. Clearly, the townsfolk had told Erwin his news before he could, "Yeah. The boy has been showing exceptional skill in the ring since we started training them. Isn't that right?" He turned to Hanji and Shardis.

Hanji nodded excitedly, brown eyes sparkling, "Yes! Yes! Both he and Armin Arlert have been studying together and it has definitely shown in the ring!"

Erwin's aged eyes widened in curiosity.

Levi shrugged like it was nothing to be excited about, "Who would have thought it? Eren seems to have this way with the beasts."

Erwin looked pensive for a minute as he followed the others to the Grand Hall, his brows furrowed as he took this strange information in. He then laughed suddenly, taking all three leaders by surprise.

"I supposed this means that your bet against Jaeger is in jeopardy, aye Levi?"

Levi only scowled. He had forgotten about the bet he made against Hanji. At this rate, Eren really was going to make it into the Wings of Freedom early, not Mikasa. He was neck and neck with her in the scores after all.

"Where are they now?" Erwin asked.

"Well, since the cadets have a day off, they are all scattered around the island doing various jobs and activities." Hanji answered for him, "As for Jaeger and Arlert… They could be anywhere."

*****

No one could have ever guessed where Eren and Armin were at that moment, even after a million attempts. The young soldiers were currently on the back of Siegfried flying across the ocean to the mainland of all places. It was Armin's plan to go for a test drive that day and he thought that the best place to do that would be on the mainland where the titans roamed. He said that the adults would never catch them there. Eren argued saying that the titans would. Eventually, Armin won the argument and the two of them sneaked off early in the morning and rode their secret dragon out of the cove and off the island. For the steamboats owned by the town force, it would take about two days to travel from the Isle of Maria to the mainland. Armin calculated that on the back of a Lethal Falka carrying two young humans clad in 3D Manoeuvre Gear would take about three hours. Much to Eren's irritation, Armin was absolutely correct.

After they crossed the coastline, they flew a few miles inland to find some forest where they discovered the familiar woods of gigantic trees. Eren remembered this place the last time his legion was taken here as part of their breaking in. On the back of a dragon he found himself more comfortable and secure than he expected. There was also a large lake nearby, surrounded by pointed peaks. It was a wonderful place with no titans to be seen for miles. Eren guided Siegfried to land on a large tree near the edge of the forest where the lake stretched out before them. Armin dismounted from behind Eren and groaned, rubbing his backside. Eren absentmindedly stroked the velvety fur on the back of Siegfried's neck, memorising its soft, silky texture. Both Eren and Armin's hair had become windswept from the flight, causing them to spike up in all directions.

"Right," Armin started, retrieving his notebook from the bag he carried on his shoulder, "to start off, Eren, I want you to perform some basic manoeuvres over the lake where I can see you clearly, okay?"

Eren cracked his fingers and stretched his back, "Okay."

Siegfried then took off, flying powerfully yet gracefully over towards the lake. Eren's gear clunked quietly with every other flap the dragon made. Eren inhaled deeply, feeling the cold fresh air, two hundred feet or so, up in the sky as he soared through it. It was so different than using the gear; freer, lighter and best of all, faster. As Armin watched and took notes, Eren leaned forward, slightly to the left and flexed his foot, directing Siegfried to also turn left to face the far side of the elongated lake. Eren leaned right and Siegfried followed, turning into a full loop. Siegfried barely had to flap as she cut through the air smoothly; both tail wings open wide and her ears and crest feathers detecting all of Eren's commands. Eren couldn't believe how much he loved riding Siegfried, the massive, golden wings beside him felt like his own as dragon and human moved in perfect sync. There was a slight breeze where Eren and Siegfried flew and they practiced manoeuvres where Siegfried would bank left or right while staying on a straight course.

"Okay, Sig. We've covered horizontal patterns. Let's practice the y axis," Eren said, fixing his position in his seat.

Siegfried cooed and rolled her shoulders, feeling Eren prepare to dip. The boy leaned forward and Siegfried tilted her wings while dipping her head. Immediately the two of them began to descend rapidly, the lake surface rushing to meet them at an angle.

"Come on, Siegfried! Come on!" Eren encouraged, feeling their speed increase.

Siegfried dropped low until she was just a few metres above the glassy surface. The lake was so still, Eren could see their reflection on the surface when he looked over. When Eren looked behind him, he could see the air currents disturb the surface.

"This is awesome," he muttered mostly to himself, "Let's see what you've got!" He challenged the Falka.

Siegfried shrieked happily in reply and began to climb, flapping furiously to gain altitude as fast as she could. Eren could feel the powerful muscles beneath him work like a machine; the flexing of the wings under his thighs, the slithering motion of her neck as she powered on, and even her feathered paws clawing at the air like she was running up a wall.

_"__Yeah! Woooo!"_ Eren cried, feeling his stomach drop and his heart soar in a wonderful way that could only be felt when on the back of a dragon.

Armin watched in awe as they scaled higher and higher, beyond the peaks to where the clouds lay. A massive grin cracked his face as his eyes followed them up. He knew Eren would end up liking this, riding dragons every day. When Eren finally decided that they had practiced the basic manoeuvres enough (and finished flying around like a hooligan) he returned to Armin, panting with exhilaration.

"How was that?" He asked, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed.

Siegfried was huffing but her head was raised tall and proud and her ears alert. As she stood on the branch, she held her wings half open to allow them to cool.

Armin nearly rolled his eyes, "Pretty good. Nice and controlled. Can you take your foot out of the stirrup for me?"

Eren ruffled his hair, "Sure,"

As he did so, the tail wings made a satisfying click and the leather popped open. Siegfried looked startled at the noise and movement and her head whipped around, blue eyes fixing on the device. The boys watched as she testily flexed her right tail wing and was shocked to see the left follow suit.

"What did you do?" Eren asked.

"Remember how we could lock the tail wing to stay open without your help?" Armin said, walking over to it, "I made a couple of changes where it would automatically lock every time your foot left the stirrup."

"So she can fly without me now?"

Armin nodded, "I don't think she would be tempted to leave us anytime soon. She likes you too much. Plus, we're easy access for food."

"Cool," Eren said.

Deep down, the older boy preferred the idea of Siegfried being tied to him in as many ways possible, even if it was very selfish and meant taking her flight away. But he remained quiet about it.

"Next, I was thinking about practicing flight in the woods." Armin said, "This will challenge you a lot more than in the open, constant changes in direction and lots of trust involved. You up for it?"

"Uh… yeah. Yeah, I am," Eren replied a little distracted.

With Eren on the back of Siegfried and Armin using his gear, the three of them made their way further into the woods where 3D Manoeuvre Gear was the main form of transportation. Before Armin could even ask if Eren was ready, the hothead set off, guiding Siegfried through twists and turns in the forest. The two of them moved freely, dodging and twirling through the branches and past colossal trunks. They moved like one, Eren feeling the slightest twitch in Siegfried's back muscles and responding appropriately. It was nothing like using the gear; he left so much more in control, despite another creature doing the actual flying. He relied on nothing but his partner and didn't want it any other way.

Suddenly, without warning, Siegfried halted mid-flight and hovered in the air. Her tail swished below and her ear flickered in different directions. The dragon snorted and grunted, something clearly distressing her.

"Sig?! What is it, what's wrong?!" Eren asked, worry etched on his face as he struggled to maintain his balance.

It was at this point where Eren realised how far away from Armin they had come. Something was clearly upsetting Siegfried and Eren only became more concerned and even scared when she roared and twisted her neck around. In one swift swipe, Siegfried had severed the straps which held Eren to the saddle and the boy scrambled to get a hold on her, crying out in fear.

"Siegfried! What's going on?!"

Siegfried mewed like a raptor on the hunt and turned in the opposite direction to where they left Armin behind. She lurched forward, almost dislodging Eren from the saddle and she streaked through the forest. Eren could only watch as the trees passed him in a blur. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it but, where those… Giant footsteps? Suddenly, he found himself where they had left his friend when the worst thing happened.

"EREN!" Armin screamed, "IT'S AN ABNORMAL!"

Out of nowhere appeared a titan, suddenly in front of Eren and Siegfried, completely blocking their path. It all seemed to go in slow motion the moment Eren saw its beady eyes focus on him. The titan's hand reached out directly for him and there was no way Eren could avoid this; he was going to die. Suddenly, at the last second, Eren found himself thrown back and slipping from Siegfried, who had reared up and thrown herself between him and the titan. With no straps to hold him on anymore, Eren fell; rolling through the air away from the titan's groping hand. Eren instinctively reacted and fired his grappling hooks from his gear, the wires securing themselves and halting Eren before he could crash into the ground. The boy grunted and gasped as he righted himself, his body savagely jerked from all sides. But he was _alive_. Eren was scared to look up, fearing the worst fate for his dragon. To his absolute astonishment, instead of seeing blood and feathers falling from the titan's grasp, he saw a fully intact Falka roar in defiance and attack the monster ferociously with her talons, completely obliterating the fingers.

"Eren! Let's go!" Armin called, snapping Eren out of his stupor.

Eren gritted his teeth and fired his gas, shooting up and away from the titan's reach. He looked back, hoping that Siegfried was okay. The dragon howled in triumph, flying after her rider with ease. Now that Eren wasn't in the saddle, the tail wing was in automatic and Siegfried could now fly by herself.

_So that was why Siegfried severed the safety strap;_ Eren realised, _so I could get away when things turned for the worst..._

Eren grinned in determination and readied himself for battle. With a violent burst of gas, Eren fired forward, soaring through the air towards the titan and Siegfried reflecting his movements. The abnormal titan was too fast to be directly killed.

Eren drew his blades and pointed one to the beast while calling to his dragon, "Siegfried! Blind it!"

Siegfried registered his command perfectly and flew upwards, rounding on the titan to level with its head. Since she wasn't a human, the titan had no interest in attacking her and she had a clear shot to its face. In one fell swoop, Siegfried rushed across its face, her talons raised, and lacerated the titan's eyes, blinding it immediately.

_Now's my chance!_

Eren flew up and levelled himself to face the titan's neck.

"GYYAAAHHHHH!" Eren roared as he smashed his blades into the nape and sliced the flesh off perfectly.

The titan fell, the earth shaking as it crashed onto the ground, dead. Eren whistled for Siegfried who darted over and stole him out of the air, the soldier landing perfectly in her saddle, and secured his feet in the stirrup taking control once more.

"Eren!" Armin called from the treetops, safe from any titan's reach.

Eren flew Siegfried up to meet him and landed lightly on his branch. They could feel their blood rushing under their skin and their hearts thrummed audibly. Armin stared in disbelief and rushed over to Eren once he dismounted.

"Eren, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, Armin. Did you see that?" Eren grasped Armin's shoulders tightly.

"You mean a dragon protected a human from a titan and assisted in killing it?"

"I know right! This is amazing!" Eren cheered, releasing Armin and rushing over to Siegfried, tackling her in a hug, "Dragons and humans, fighting titans together!" He released Siegfried who was grinning madly and scrambled to mount her. Eren saluted and Siegfried straightened, playing along, "Nothing can stand in our way! For we are the Wings of Freedom!"

The two dived off the tree and flew circles, cheering and whooping in delight like a pair of crazy children. Armin stared then smiled. It did make sense that Eren could literally be the Wings of Freedom riding Siegfried. Maybe humans and dragon really could live in harmony together, even fight alongside each other against the titans. It was truly unbelievable what Siegfried did, according to Eren's account. It seemed that she knew of the titan's presence and rushed back to protect Armin. So in a way, she she put herself in danger to protect both humans.

After that terrifying experience with the abnormal titan, the boys felt compelled to go home and get something to eat. They had been away from the Island for almost six hours now and didn't want to raise anymore suspicion. Eren and Siegfried didn't mind but they insisted on flying at speed and various heights with a few flips, screws and rolls in mid-flight. Armin spent most of this time with his arms wrapped tight around Eren's waist and his eyes shut. He never was one for going at speed, even in the 3D Manoeuver Gear. Eventually, they made it back home in even less time than before and rested on the cliffs by the coast. After dismounting, Eren and Armin removed their gear and retrieved lunch and tools from Armin's bag. As the boys sat down and ate, Siegfried took off to hunt for fish in the ocean below. When she returned, her huge mouth was full of fish of varying sizes and she made herself comfortable lying behind the boys, allowing them to lean against her. At some point, Siegfried offered some fish to Eren who politely declined, happy with his loaf of bread.

"Hey, what are those?" Armin said.

Eren looked to see a flock of seven small dragons flying towards them, their flight clunky and a little uncoordinated. Upon closer inspection, Eren realised that they were baby Lurals and Velxes, just a couple of years old at the most. They were so thin Eren thought that they would snap as soon as they landed. When they did, they immediately approached Siegfried and her cluster of fish, the smell clearly attracting them. The Lethal Falka growled and placed her paws over her catch defensively. When the fledglings attempted to steal some of her food, Siegfried snapped and snarled at them, her ears folded back and her teeth bared. One managed to snatch some fish away, much to the Falka's contempt, and it had to fight against the other babies to keep it. They growled and snarled which to Eren sounded more like Siegfried's purrs and ended up play fighting with each other. Eren and Armin laughed at their playfulness.

"Here you go," Eren said, tossing the fish he was given to a Velx that was being bullied by Siegfried.

The Velx saw the fish land in front of it and happily snapped it up, swallowing the meat whole. Eren expected the yearling to leave it at that, but the young dragon was clearly affected by Eren's act of compassion and felt compelled to approach this nice human further. The Velx crawled closer to Eren with caution, coos and purrs escaping its throat. Eventually, it sidled up to Eren and squeezed in between him and Armin. It then lay down, sneaking its head under Eren's arm and rested in his lap. Eren slowly began to caress the dragon's head and back, running his fingers through its soft fur and feathers.

"It's like everything we know about them is wrong," said Armin, softly, "they never were a threat to mankind like the titans. They may even be the answers to our prayers…"

Eren only smiled and scratched the dragon under the ears.

*****

When Eren and Armin finally returned to the town, they were exhausted from the long day and retired to the Grand Hall for dinner. Mikasa didn't attack them with any probing questions and they were able to enjoy a special dinner celebrating the return of the Wings of Freedom. Commander Erwin, flanked by his officers, stood to make a toast in memory of the lives lost and the future success of destroying the nest. Though it was long, Erwin's speech was inspiring and everyone held on to each word. He then congratulated the progress of the cadets in dragon training. Announcing that the two students with the highest scores will go head to head the next day to prove who was worthy of the Wings of Freedom. Erwin then took his seat allowing Levi to stand and take over.

"Thank you for your speech, Commander. May your words drive us in the fight for freedom." He adjusted his collar, "As our Commander has just explained, the two cadets with the highest scores will be put to the test tomorrow in the arena to decide who will go into the kill ring the day after." Levi drew out a sheet of paper and grimaced, "Our two leading soldiers are… Mikasa Ackerman… And Eren Jaeger!"

The Grand Hall erupted in applause at the two young soldier's success during the course.

"May you do your best to make the Wings of Freedom proud." Levi finished dryly, taking his seat.

"Dig in everyone!" Hanji announced, giving everyone permission to begin eating the wonderful meal prepared for them.

After dinner, Eren retreated to Armin's study while Armin returned to the dorms. Eren felt the need to be alone as he was being troubled by thoughts that wouldn't go away. As he sat at Armin's desk, his face and arms sprawled across the surface, he wondered how long he could keep Siegfried a secret for and what would happen if she was discovered. He couldn't bear the thought of her being taken away or killed; it would break his heart to lose her. The two had become incredibly close since they had started flying together and Eren didn't want to lose what he had found. Even Armin would be devastated. Eren's thoughts, however, were interrupted when the door was suddenly opened and the Commander of the Wings of Freedom walked in, followed by Corporal Levi. Gasping and stammering, Eren stumbled to his feet and saluted, though he was shabby and breathing rapidly.

"Commander Erwin! Levi Heichou- I mean, Captain- uh, sir!" He blabbered, floundering at being disturbed by such high ranking officers.

Erwin raised his hand to quieten Eren and spoke soothingly, "As you were, Jaeger." He then pulled out a second chair and sat down, Levi leaning on the wall behind him.

Eren blinked, "Uh, yes Sir." He then took his own seat, "Uh, Armin isn't here…"

"I know," Erwin said, "I came to look for you."

Eren swallowed, "M-me?"

"Yes."

"We know what you've been up to, Eren. We've come to talk about that dragon," Levi said, his tone dark.

A strangled sound emerged from Eren but he cleared his voice, "I-I don't know… What you…"

"Just how long did you think you could keep this from us?" Levi said.

Eren felt as if his world began to crash all around him. So this was the end of the line?

"Ahh… Oh, geeze… Look, we were gonna tell you guys…"

"I have to say," said Erwin, "I'm seriously impressed with you, Jaeger."

Eren was taken aback, "Y-you are? I mean, you're not mad?"

"What?" The Commander laughed, something Eren though was impossible, "Well, to be honest we were hoping for this!"

"Uhh… You were?" Eren looked to Levi for clarification.

"We saw talent in you, but we didn't expect you would make it this far." The Captain said. He sounded bored as usual, "Your skills in the arena have been outstanding, even the town recognises it. Commander Erwin cannot wait to see you do your work in the ring tomorrow."

"Ah…" Eren said, still unsure with what to say, "Well… I hope I do not disappoint?"

"You better not, Jaeger." Levi replied, "By the end of this we even expect you to beat Ackerman and join the Wings of Freedom. Think you can make the guardians of Maria proud?"

Eren nodded stiffly.

"Good," said Erwin, rising from his chair, "glad we got that sorted. Now would be a good time to go to bed. Don't want you tired for the semi-final exam tomorrow."

"No Sir…"

"Good."

With that, the Commander and Captain left Eren alone in the study, the boy unsure of what to do next. Eventually he found himself outside his bedroom door. He could hear Connie and Jean making noise from the other side. When he entered, he saw Armin on his bunk reading a book. The boy turned to greet his friend as he entered the room. Before Eren could reach his bunk, however, Jean approached him.

"Uh, congrats on making it to the semi-finals," he said, "make sure to kick Mikasa's butt for us guys." He smiled warmly, knowing that he was standing before a respectable comrade and not just a rival. He raised his hand in a friendly gesture.

"Yeah, thanks." Eren replied, returning Jean's gesture and slapping his hand against his.

When Jean released him, Eren stood by his bunk and began to undress, sighing audibly as he unbuckled his belts, releasing his limbs from their bonds. Armin continued to read but he could feel the tension Eren carried on his shoulders. Eventually, as Eren refused to say anything, Armin turned on him.

"Okay, what's up?"

Eren sighed, taking his time before answering, "… What if I have to kill a dragon?"

Armin was shocked and struggled to find words, "Eren, I…"

But the brunette shook his head, "Forget it," he said before vanishing up on his bunk.


	11. Chapter 10 - Mikasa Goes For A Spin

"Eren…? Eren!?"

Eren Jaeger was so fast asleep and wrapped up in his dreams that it took far too much effort on Armin's behalf to wake him up.

"Eren, get up for your test!" He cried, shaking his friend rather violently.

"Guwah!" Eren jolted awake, his eyes wide and his body covered in a cold sweat.

He could feel his heartbeat hammering in his chest and he rubbed his eyes against the harsh light. Armin, perched on the bunk ladder, watched Eren return to reality.

"… Mmnngghhrr…" The boy groaned, desperately wanting to return to his covers and hide, "Please… No…"

Armin sighed, Eren's anxiety getting to him, "Sorry, Eren," and dropped from the bunk to get dressed.

*****

The objective was simple; be the first to immobilise the dragon. The other rules were to leave it unharmed and to not clip its wings. Eren had mixed feelings about wanting to win, especially when he saw Mikasa. On the surface, she looked calm and cool, the perfect opponent for good sportsmanship. But Eren knew her well enough to know that underneath, she was going to give it her all to win. The dragon was a Velx; its speed and agility making it difficult to be pinpointed. Mikasa had gone straight into attack mode, which probably wasn't the best method in regards to performance, but it gave her a better chance of capturing it before Eren. She weaved in and out of the posts, constantly cutting the Velx off in an attempt to corner it against the outer wall. When Mikasa would finally pin it and strike, her rash decision would be thwarted; the dragon escaping through those tiny, unguarded windows of opportunity. Cursing through gritted teeth, Mikasa would then set off again, homing down on it like a heat-seeking missile and giving chase once more.

The whole town along with the new legion had come to watch today's test and see who would come out on top for the chance to become the Wings of Freedom. Erwin, sat in a specially designated seat, watched eagerly, though he barely showed it with his face stoic as usual. Captain Levi, Major Hanji and Shardis flanked him, watching the fight with equal interest. Except for Hanji, that was, who was squealing over what Eren was going to do. Eren, surprisingly, had done next to nothing for the last fifteen minutes, stuck between deciding on playing or not. He watched Mikasa and the Velx fly circles around him, moving around leisurely on his gear. Suddenly, he was face to face with Mikasa again.

"Put in the effort, Eren, or I will!" She said bluntly and took off before he could reply.

Mikasa was coming in close on the Velx now. She could almost taste the victory. Her dark eyes narrowed.

"This time," she hissed, "this time, for sure!"

Screaming her battle cry, she dived to fire her net. But the Velx was still two steps ahead of her, and suddenly kicked up a dust storm with its wings. Mikasa lost sight of it and the dragon got away again. Frustrated, she swung around the cloud, hoping to cut it off and strike it down. What she found though, was Eren with the Velx. He was crouching beside its body which was lying across the ground on its side, his fingers gently stroking through the soft fur on its neck. Mikasa landed clumsily, the sight taking her by surprise as the crowd erupted in applause. She was shocked to feel an immense amount of jealousy and disappointment wash over and suffocate her. It seemed really unfair that Eren should win without even using the typical dragon-killing techniques while she had been training her butt off from the start. The result of this was an expression so dark from Mikasa, Eren looked positively terrified when he saw her. Levi then entered the ring, calling Eren and Mikasa to attention as he prepared to announce the winner.

"The winner has been decided!" He shouted, standing between the two cadets. He looked awfully funny being dwarfed between the two of them, "The winner of today's challenge, and the only one of thirty qualified to take the last test to become the Wings of Freedom," he grabbed Eren's wrist, who jolted, and raised it up above their heads, "is Eren Jaeger!"

Eren's face paled, his arm awkwardly bent above his head as the audience erupted again, and his fellow cadets, cheering like hyperactive children, charged in to surround Eren and lift him onto their shoulders in praise. Even Jean, Connie and Sasha held him up with grins on their faces.

Eren's eyes scanned for Armin who, when he found him, stood to the side, aware of the distress Eren was under. The young soldier's eyes then wandered to Commander Erwin, his stomach dropping painfully at how impressed he looked. Finally, Eren's eyes fell on Captain Levi, who was giving him stares that made Mikasa's most fierce glare look like a sweet smile. Eren's anxiety was all for one simple reason, however.

*****

"I can't do it," he choked, staring at his hands.

He was sitting on Armin's bed, hiding in his room with his friend leaning on a bunk across from him.

"I never killed one, Armin," his throat was dry and Armin had to listen carefully to catch each of Eren's quiet words, "and now that I finally get the chance to do it with glory…"

It was after the celebratory lunch which had been prepared for the cadets. Eren had been swamped by the others congratulating on his success. He was so out of it that he felt sick from just the atmosphere. He also noticed that Mikasa had sat on the other side of the Hall, far away from him. She looked lonely and he thought that maybe she was still pissed about him winning. He didn't know that she cared so much about winning. For once, Eren missed his sister dreadfully. Her calm aura, would hush any crowd. Eren never realised how much he appreciated Mikasa keeping him out of the spotlight until he didn't have her to do it. He left the Grand Hall as soon as he could, Armin explaining to the others that he needed time to prepare for the test tomorrow.

It was a lie.

Armin had his arms folded across his chest and his ankles crossed as he watched and listened to Eren.

"I have a feeling you're going to do something I really don't think I can stop you from doing," he said, softly.

Eren looked up, dark circles under his eyes, "Huh? W-why?"

Armin closed his eyes, tiredness showing through his own, "Because I think it's probably the best shot you've got at keeping the both of you safe, even if it does mean breaking our hearts."

*****

Mikasa was sitting alone for once, and not training in the fields like usual. She was wiping down the tables voluntarily, knowing that no matter what she did, she could never deter her thoughts. She was then interrupted.

"Ackerman," a sullen voice spoke.

Mikasa stood to the attention of Captain Levi, saluting as she addressed him, "Yes, Sir!"

His tone suggested she was in trouble. She guessed it could be for one of two reasons.

"Why have you not reported back to me on the behaviour of Jaeger and Arlert?" He snapped, eyes dark.

"Because I have had nothing to report, Sir." She replied honestly.

Levi quirked a long, thin eyebrow, "Oh? You mean to say that you have failed to carry out my request?"

_Orders,_ she mentally corrected him, and nodded, "Hai. That is correct."

Suddenly, he was up in her face, though she didn't even flinch, "I am going to ask you one more time, Ackerman, find out what Eren and Armin are up to."

He used first names, she noted.

"… Hai." She said despondently.

With another "Tch!" Levi turned on his heels and left Mikasa in a worse state than before.

She actually felt like crying.

*****

"Siegfried?" Eren called, making his way down into the cove.

He carried two large bags filled with tools and gear that should help keep him safe and prepared on his journey. Armin followed in, a solemn look on his face. Siegfried didn't reveal herself immediately and Eren guessed that she was probably sleeping. He dropped his bags by a cluster of boulders and opened them to check the contents. When Eren stood up, he was greeted by Mikasa sitting cross-legged on one of the rocks, examining one of her blades.

Both Eren and Armin jumped back with an, "Ahh!"

"M-Mikasa?" Eren stammered, horrified to see her in their secret cove, "What are- what are you doing here?"

Mikasa looked dead and flat out terrifying as she looked straight at Eren with a glare and dismounted from the rock. She ignored Armin entirely.

"I want to know exactly what is going on," she said in her dead-pan voice.

As Eren backed off in fear for everyone's safety in the cove and Mikasa followed him, like she was stalking her prey.

"You have been showing skills in the ring that have never been seen before, and revealing things about the dragons that even the library books show no hint of knowing." She drew her blade up to Eren's neck, hoping that threat will make more progress, "I need you to start talking. Now."

Armin started to get nervous, "Mikasa, stop it!"

When Eren failed to form a coherent sentence, Mikasa's eye diverted to his waist where she saw the two thin straps dangling freely, and grabbed the modification in her strong grip.

"What the hell is this?" She demanded.

"Egh!" Eren exclaimed as he was lifted onto his toes by his hips, "That? Uh, that is, uhm… A new… Thing that Arm-argh!"

He was interrupted by the sound of branches snapping which made Mikasa throw him down to see what made the noise. He fell with a yelp. Armin was peeking through his fingers on his face, silently praying.

Eren tried desperately to get Mikasa's attention back, "Ahh! You know what? You caught us… Ah… We have been… Modifying our gear, to allow us to perform better-oww!" He had grabbed hold of Mikasa's shoulder and she promptly removed him, twisting his hand in a way that made him drop to the floor in pain, "Why would you do that-AUGH!" He was then stepped on and was winded.

"That's for lying to me, Eren. Please stop lying."

Then a certain dragon called out, singing out her joy to see the boys. The moment this happened, Eren and Armin's stomachs sank. As Eren tried to stand up, Mikasa gasped and threw him back down again, covering his body.

"Get down!" She yelled.

Seeing the aggressive action the new human made on her Eren, Siegfried turned on the offensive, her ears flattened, teeth bared, and she galloped forward, her wings spread to make her look bigger and more intimidating.

"Siegfried! NO!" Armin screamed.

The dragon roared as Mikasa stood, blades raised as she rose to attack. Siegfried leaped over the boulders, talons open and ready to kill.

_"__STOP!"_ Eren roared, throwing himself between the two.

In that split second, Eren drew his blades and crashed one each against the dragon and soldier. The human and the beast were stopped dead in their tracks, unable to fight with Eren in the way. Siegfried immediately backed down, still snarling and expressing her distaste for this new human. Mikasa had never looked more astounded. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly. Suddenly, Eren flipped his sword and twisted Mikasa's blades out of her hand, forcing her to drop them. He then turned to the Falka, his own blades dropped and his hands raised instead. Armin stood to the side, afraid to make anything worse, should he interfere.

"Woah, woah! Siegfried, shhh! It's okay! I'm okay…" Eren hushed and cooed at the dragon, his relaxed voice and body language taking an immediate effect on her.

Siegfried became less frantic and stopped arguing about how Mikasa was still breathing. She was confused and scared that Eren had allowed this new female to hurt him and then went to her defence when Siegfried acted to protect him. She gave him exaggerated expressions that screamed things like, _'__Why are you defending her, Eren!?'_ and _'__No one lays a finger on my Eren-human!'_ and _'__Just let me slit her throat! Please!?'._

"Eren! What are you doing with a dragon!?" Mikasa said in utter disbelief.

As Eren struggled to contain Siegfried, Armin rushed in and grabbed her arm pleadingly, "Please don't hurt the dragon or Eren, Mikasa!" He said, his eyes wide, "It will only make things worse!"

Eren turned around to face them and Siegfried pressed her head under his arm in a possessive manner. Eren leaned back a little to resist her, his other hand reaching to comfort the dragon.

"You just scared her," he said softly.

"I scared her!?" Mikasa exclaimed, ripping her arm out of Armin's grip. She then paused, looking back and forth between the soldier and dragon, "Who is her?"

"Uh," Eren stammered, and leaned off of Siegfried to reveal and introduce her properly. The dragon sat up, sitting on her haunches while glowering at Mikasa, "Mikasa, Siegfried." He gestured to each other, "Siegfried, Mikasa."

At being introduced, the Lethal Falka snarled loudly, her ears and crest feathers quivering in anger.

"Mikasa, please try to understand!" Armin begged, "Whatever it is, it isn't what it looks like!"

Mikasa looked even betrayed, "What have you _done…?"_ Then she suddenly took off, flying out of the cove with her gear and out of sight.

"Shit, Armin. We have to stop her," Eren said, "we can't let her tell the others!"

"I know!" Armin cried, "Hurry up and get on Siegfried! We have to get her to listen or Siegfried is doomed!" Eren nodded and turned to Siegfried who gave him a sarcastic, disbelieving look.

It was as if she was saying _'__You two losers can go after her, but I am not wasting my breath on that female'_ and then promptly trotted off.

"Siegfried! Where are you going!?" Eren shouted, running after her.

*****

As Mikasa flew through the trees as fast as she could, she could barely contain her raging thoughts as they spun like a blur in her head. She was so confused. She never expected Eren and Armin to be harbouring a dragon so close to the town. And a Lethal Falka, too! Where they trying to get everyone killed!? She was so distracted that she failed to react when a cluster of talons ripped into her 3D Manoeuvre Gear and hoisted her up in the air above the trees. Mikasa screamed, unable to escape with her gear now broken and finding herself higher above the ground than she felt comfortable. She could feel the difference in the motion of the flight and it was nothing like the man-made gear she was so used to. This was smooth, powerful and flowing, yet had the potential to be just as vicious and erratic as the gear. She was abruptly dumped onto a forty foot high or so tree and she grasped desperately onto one of the branches. She saw the dragon land elegantly on an angle that bent the peak downwards, allowing it to remain horizontally perched. Its wings remained half open for balance. Eren and Armin sat on the back of it, looking ridiculously calm for being in such close proximity with a dangerous dragon. She was about to let go when she remembered that her gear was broken from the impact.

"Eren!" She shrieked, "Get me down, right now!"

"You have to give us a chance to explain, Mikasa-"

"I am not listening to either of you, Eren!" She roared, "You have betrayed the town and the guardians of the island!"

Eren tried to remain calm, though his heart hammered in his chest. Siegfried could feel his tension and it was rubbing off on her. Armin sat quietly, watching Mikasa closely.

"Then I won't speak." Eren said, "Just… Please… Let us show you…"

Mikasa considered her choices and realised that she had next to none. After a few seconds of contemplation, she climbed up to the dragon's level. Armin shuffled back to allow Mikasa to sit in the middle, and she hoisted herself up. She landed rather heavily on Siegfried's back which made the beast growl in discomfort. Her dislike for the human female grew.

"Now get me down," she demanded, though her voice was a little weak.

Eren leaned forward a little, his hand stroking the dragon's neck comfortingly.

"Siegfried, down. Gently."

Begrudgingly, Siegfried snapped open her wings further and allowed the high winds to lift her gradually from the tree.

"See?" Eren said, "Nothing to be afraid of, right?"

Siegfried thought otherwise and decided to blatantly disobey Eren. In an instant, she shot up, flying vertically at high speed. Eren and the others were lurched back dangerously and despite the weight of three young humans, Siegfried flew with surprising ease. Both Armin and Mikasa screamed in terror as they scaled hundreds of feet into the air.

"Eren!" cried Armin as he scrambled to hold on, "What are you doing?!"

Eren was having trouble himself, being completely thrown off guard, "Siegfried!? Siegfried, stop! What is wrong with you!?"

Several hundred feet up, Siegfried made a slight arc and levelled herself out, now horizontal.

Eren laughed nervously, looking back at a terrified Armin and Mikasa, both with windswept hair, "Hah… She's not usually like this… Uh…"

At that moment, Eren saw Siegfried tuck in her right wing and he felt her begin to roll.

"Ah, shit." He muttered.

All four of them dropped like a rock towards the ocean, Mikasa and Armin screaming their heads off. At the last possible second, Siegfried opened her wings and slowed the collision into the water, splashing sea spray all over them. In a series of dips, Siegfried continued to skim across the ocean surface, kicking up water and soaking all of them in the coldness.

Eren was in state of panic, "Siegfried, what are you doing?! We have to get her to trust us! … Siegfried!"

The Lethal Falka suddenly lurched up again, gaining height once more. Eren cringed, wondering what she was planning on doing. He contemplated closing her tail wing at some point, but to suddenly lose control at this speed could end up killing them all. He was stuck, forced to allow this horrifying performance of extreme aerial manoeuvres. He realised how important cooperation was at this point. Then the golden dragon began to spin, corkscrewing expertly through the air.

"Oh, god. Please stop this, Sig." Eren begged.

Once they reached a certain height, Siegfried closed her wings up at a firm angle, and dropped again. This time, she performed an insane series of multiple corkscrews, flips and rewinds. Eren could feel the death-grip Mikasa had on his waist.

_"__Okay! Okay!"_ She cried, her eyes closed tight, "I'm sorry! I won't tell, just please! Make it stop!"

Siegfried must have heard her because the next instant, he wings opened like a parachute and they were yanked upwards the right way up. Mikasa yelped at the sudden jolt but then felt a slow rise. Upon slowly opening her eyes, Mikasa could see the sun setting over the ocean's horizon, staining the sky and sea with pink. They all slowly ascended, the warm thermal winds lifting Siegfried's open wings out and up until they reached the fluffy clouds above.

The three soldiers watched with wide eyes, awestruck at the serenity of being so high up. All of the dragon's bad energy had gone and Mikasa felt safe enough to reach out and touch the clouds above their heads. Its cold, damp feeling surprised her yet felt somewhat familiar as it tickled as soft and light as she imagined. Soaring higher and higher, Siegfried led the humans into the clouds until they were surrounded by them. Massive columns, mountains and towers of clouds wandered through the sky, rolling inwards and out of themselves. Eren had no idea how high up they were, but he had never seen the clouds like this before. The dragon flew smoothly and freely around them, coiling around the pillars on an angle. Eren, Armin and Mikasa felt lighter than air upon the Falka's back as she gently rotated, allowing the air currents to roll her upwards and gently flip her upside down.

They were all silent, not wanting to break the mood of peace Siegfried had brought upon them. For what felt like forever, they flew in and out of clouds until the sun set and the sky turned navy. Siegfried led them over the cloud cover and a colossal sheet of soft white spread out below. Occasional lumps of pale cloud dotted the cover. The skies then burst into colour as celestial lights streamed through the air like rivers of colour. Blue, greens and purples bled into the children's eyes as they stared. Siegfried led them to the edge of the cloud cover where the vapours revealed the coastline of Isle Maria. The town slept peacefully. Lights all over glowed brightly in the night, heightening the beauty the island held.

"It's so… Beautiful," Mikasa murmured, looking over Eren's shoulder, "I never thought that Maria always looked like this from above..."

Eren lifted his head a little, allowing the winds to run over his neck and through his hair, and sighed.

"Guys, did you notice how well Siegfried is flying with three people?" Armin chirruped.

"Siegfried," Mikasa rolled the name over her tongue, completely ignoring Armin, "it's a gorgeous name." She then leaned forward slightly to stroke the soft fur on her neck, "She's gorgeous."

Siegfried took them further out to sea, covering many miles as she soared. The night went on as the three young soldiers enjoyed the night flight. After a while, Mikasa spoke.

"So, what are you gonna do now?" She asked Eren.

"Huh?" He replied.

Mikasa rolled her eyes at his thick-headedness, "The test tomorrow, Eren," she hissed, dropping her voice, "you're actually going to have to kill a dragon this time."

Eren frowned, severely troubled all of a sudden, "Ah… I know."

Siegfried then yanked everyone down to the right into a fog, her flight jerky as she whipped her head back and forth. Everyone yelped at the manoeuvre, confused and tense.

"Sig? What's wrong?" Eren asked.

"Eren, Mikasa, get down!" Armin hissed frantically.

All three suddenly ducked as Siegfried swerved out of the way of a Velx coming in from behind. It hadn't noticed the children upon the Falka's back and continued to fly straight. Then the soldiers realised that it was not alone, as the fog cleared somewhat to reveal a whole flock of dragons, all flying in the same direction.

"What are they doing?" Mikasa asked in a whisper.

"It…" Armin answered, "Looks like they're hauling in their kill."

True to his word, every single dragon seemed to be holding some kind of prey, but it was hard to see…

"Oh, shit…"

Eren looked to where Mikasa was pointing and saw in a dragon's talons the limp, hanging body of a human. The kids watched in absolute horror, their eyes wide and faces pale. Almost every dragon was carrying a human. What made it worse was that some were still alive and people were crying and screaming or moaning in terror. It sounded nightmarish, like they were going down the river of the dead.

"Did the dragons…?" Eren managed to choke out.

"No," Armin answered weakly, "If they raided Maria, we would have seen it happen or at least crossed paths way earlier. These are people from another settlement, far away."

"Disgusting," Mikasa commented, "how the Hell were you able to train one…?"

Eren leaned down closer to Siegfried's ear, "Come on, girl, we gotta get out of here,"

"Eren, we can't," Armin hissed, "the flock is pulling us in, it's impossible to oppose the flow!"

"Damn," Eren cursed, his teeth gritting.

Then the dragons began to dip, and the soldiers found themselves swerving between rocks above the water's surface. Siegfried remained focused, doing her best to keep her humans safe and undetected. For a while, no one could see anything. Then the fog eventually began to disperse. They approached an island, smaller than Isle Maria and shaped like a volcano, of which it probably was. The flock climbed up the mountainside and flew into various holes located around the rocks. Armin yelped as they briefly flew in complete darkness, but Eren trusted Siegfried and she sailed through without a single clip on the walls. Soon, the tunnel opened up into a massive cave system, laced with pillars and ledges all around. There was a deep, deep hole in the centre which was too foggy to see the bottom of. Whatever was down there, the dragons all dropped their victims into it, the people screaming as they fell. The kids refrained from looking and wished they could cover their ears. They knew that there was absolutely nothing they could do. Siegfried turned away as soon as she could and took refuge on a ledge on one of the unclaimed pillars. Eren, Armin and Mikasa all watched from her back as the dragons glided past, leaving their prey behind and flying back up to perch on the pillars.

"This is what happens to us every time they raid?" Eren said quietly.

"They're not eating any of them," Armin said.

Eventually the rest of the flock returned and took their places after dropping their screaming catch. There was a quiet pause before the survivors at the bottom of the pit began to scream again. The three soldiers froze, unable to get the sickening cries out of their heads. They couldn't see anything.

"Why are they screaming?" Mikasa asked.

"Maybe it's offspring?" Eren tossed out the theory, but Armin corrected him.

"Wrong season, Eren, and you know the babies stay with their parents."

There was a low rumbling sound, like something massive was moving down there. Eventually the screams died out. Then, out of the fog, elevated a monster no human alive ever knew existed until that very moment.

"What the…?"

"Oh my god…"

"Is that a…?"

There was no mistaking it; just like how there were titans resembling humans, this… Colossal titan resembled a dragon. It was ugly and quite different from what a typical dragon looked like. There were very few patches of fur and skin, revealing most of the muscles and tendons. Its head was squarer in shape and had much bigger jaws. Its gigantic teeth had no lips to cover them and blood and human body parts stained and littered them. It lacked those long ears and only a few enormous feathers sprouted at the back. It looked like a deformed dragon that had suffered a fire.

Instantly, the monster reached out and snapped up an unfortunate dragon in its jaws, the poor beast screaming in agony and terror as its body snapped in two. All of the other dragons retreated, taking off and flying upwards in a spiral to escape out of the volcano. The small, beady eyes of the titan dragon locked in on Siegfried and her humans.

"Siegfried, NOW!" Eren roared.

The Falka fled, avoiding the demonic beast by a hair's breath as they climbed up and up. The weight of three humans wasn't a huge hindrance, thankfully, but still slowed Siegfried down somewhat.

"Come on, Sig, COME ON!" Eren encouraged.

They could feel and hear the titan dragon attempt climbing up after them and felt their hearts stop at the sickening crunch just behind. It had just missed them again, its heavy jaws clamping together on thin air. They only felt their hearts start again once they were outside and in the sky again. No one said anything as Eren directed Siegfried home, back to the cove. He could feel the terror still rippling through Siegfried's body as she flew faster than necessary.

_So that is what has been happening to the humans who are stolen in every raid,_ Eren thought, _they are sacrificed to another titan in dragon form._

When Siegfried finally landed in the cove, Armin and Mikasa quickly dismounted while Eren took his time. He could feel the distress in Siegfried and ran his hand down her neck soothingly.

"We have it all wrong!" Armin cried, "The dragons do not raid the town to eat the humans! Just like humanity, the dragons have their own titans to fear." He was getting frantic as his mind worked out problems and theories through logic, "Normal titans do not target dragons, but a dragon titan targets both…" he pondered for a second, "It also looks like that the titan dragon controls normal dragons and uses them to bring humans to it, like a Queen Bee controls her workers."

"And if they don't bring enough, they will be eaten themselves," Mikasa finished.

"They raid us only to survive," Armin said in a sad voice, "they are victims of the titans, just like us,"

"We have to go tell the Commander about this, now!" Mikasa said, about to run off.

Eren suddenly whipped around and grabbed hold of her arm, his eyes shadowed by his hair. His sister turned on him.

"Eren, what are you doing?" she snapped.

Eren then looked up, a strange emotion in his eyes that Mikasa had never seen before, "Please don't tell them."

Mikasa stared in utter incredulity, "We just found the dragon's nest and why the dragons raid us. Hell, we've even discovered a whole new threat we didn't even know about, Eren! And you want to keep this a secret from humanity!? _Why?!"_

"Because they will kill Siegfried if they find out about her." He said bluntly.

Mikasa then realised the connection Eren had with this dragon and how important the beast was to him.

"Mikasa," Armin spoke cautiously, "because of Siegfried, we have proven that dragons are not a threat to humanity. But like you were before, the others will not understand immediately, and will end up destroying our hope for a better future before they can understand." He took hold of her hand to make her look at him, "She even saved us from the titans."

The black haired girl removed her hand from Armin's, "You went to the mainland?" She spoke like a mother had caught her children stealing from the cookie-jar.

Armin stuttered, "No! Well, yes. But that's another story! What we're asking here is to please just wait another day, right Eren?"

Armin turned to his friend who had his back to them, Siegfried pressing her muzzle into his open palms affectionately.

"There's no point running away now," he said. "Just… Give me until tomorrow? I'll decide what I will do then,"

Armin nodded and Mikasa sighed.

"Mikasa, let me fix your gear for you," Armin offered.

As the boy worked on Mikasa's gear, Eren stood before Siegfried who was questioning his sad behaviour with wide blue eyes. He raised his relaxed hand and allowed her to nibble on his knuckle, soft coos escaping her.

"It'll be okay, Sig." Eren whispered, "I promise."


	12. Chapter 11 - The Kill Ring

Eren couldn't believe it. Next to every single member of the town of Maria had come to the kill ring to watch the final exam Eren would be taking. The young soldier couldn't understand their enthusiasm; just a few days ago, no one outside of the military gave a rat's ass about dragon training. The crowd was almost deafening as they completely surrounded the arena. Of course, the whole of the military was there, including Eren's legion as it was mandatory. But clearly, no one wanted to miss the event. Eren waited at the gate's entrance, his gear feeling heavier than ever. Armin and Mikasa flanked him in support. When Commander Erwin finally arrived with his cohorts, he took his place where he could be seen and heard easiest, before beginning his speech.

Raising his hand to quieten the crowd, he spoke "As we have been doing so for centuries, we have been training eager young men and women with potential for greatness, to fight for the survival of humanity." His powerful voice boomed proudly across the arena, "Everyone who wears the uniform, and carries the blades has sworn their lives for our success against not only the titans but also the dragons that threaten our lives." He would add a few slight pauses here and there, choosing his words carefully, "For the past few weeks, our newest legion of cadets have given sweat, blood and tears into their training. Thanks to Captain Levi, Major Hanji and Colonel Shardis, we can continue to fight and rely on the brave souls we call the guardians of the Isle of Maria!"

The crowd cheered with each break. The young cadets whooped and hollered like children at a fair.

"We are proud to announce the early coming of age for one of our most gifted soldiers." Erwin said in a softness that made Eren squirm, "And that soldier, is Eren Jaeger!"

Eren could have sworn he heard Jean, Connie, Sasha and Marco screaming out their lungs like idiots, even above the rest of the town and military. He felt like a cheat.

"Despite a soldier with a track record of Eren's," Erwin continued, "the boy has still managed to pull through, astound his teachers and place first among thirty in dragon training!"

His three leaders stood proudly beside him, rigid and to attention. Squad Leader Hanji couldn't stop smiling yet Shardis and Levi kept their poker faces on.

"Today," Erwin boomed, "Eren Jaeger will spout his wings. He will fly alongside his comrades and become the Wings of Freedom!"

Erwin finished his speech and took his seat to watch the fight. The gate before Eren opened up and he felt his stomach drop painfully. Mikasa stepped forward and squeezed his shoulder in support.

"You know which dragon it is?" She asked quietly.

Eren had to swallow before answering, "Yeah," he choked.

"Then… Make sure to be extra careful. Please."

Armin came to stand on his other side, "I hope you can pull this off, Eren,"

"Well I have to try." He then turned to face his sister properly, "Mikasa? Armin and I have left the lock off of Siegfried's tail so she can't get out of the cove. If anything goes wrong," his voice turned a bit desperate, "don't let them find her."

Eren knew how close Siegfried had gotten with him. He didn't think that he would be able to find time to see her today so, to prevent her from leaving the cove and going out to find him herself, he had left her without flight. He remembered the fight she had put up over it...

One of the adults told him that it was now time to go.

The boy took a shaky breath before stepping out into the light, feeling the empty space on his body where his net would be. He almost missed hearing Armin say "We'll be right here for you!" as the mass of people's roars filled his ears. Eren kept walking, his feet feeling as heavy as lead, towards the gate that had never been opened for training. All eyes were on him, watching eagerly, with only a few scrutinizing harshly. Eren drew his blades and drew a deep, somewhat calming breath.

"I'm ready," he said, looking up to face the locked doors.

The bars of wood were removed from barricading the doors. There was a pause. Then, like a crack of thunder, the gates burst open and the dragon surged out from the dark, spreading its massive wings and flying around the arena in such high speeds, Eren had trouble tracking it. The beast roared and screamed in rage, attacking the cage walls where people stood. It flew a complete loop around the arena, finally coming to a stop just in front of the stable it had left. Landing heavily on its feathered paws, the dragons slowly turned to face Eren, an expression of absolute hate on its face. The massive beast opened its wings to their full span and began to prowl towards Eren.

Eren felt his heart lodge in his throat, despite knowing his opponent prior to the fight. He forced his turquoise eyes to rise up and meet with that of a Lethal Falka.

This was the only one to be successfully captured by the military and had cost so many lives for it. It was huge, possibly even bigger than Siegfried and was grey in colour, almost silver with darker areas on the wings and feet. This dragon was decidedly one of the hardest to fight, as its Aggressive ability allowed it to fight relentlessly, even through immense pain and injury. As the grey Falka stalked towards Eren, the soldier began to step back at a slightly slower pace.

"Go on, Eren!" Someone shouted.

"Give it to 'im!" Yelled another.

As the Falka continued to close in on Eren, its dark brown eyes fixed on the boy's own bright pair, the young soldier dropped his two blades to the side, allowing the dragon to walk over them. As the grey Falka did, everyone murmured in surprise or made some similar gesture. Mikasa and Armin watch tensely, their fingernails digging into their palms until they bruised, but they felt nothing.

"What is he doing?" Erwin said to Levi.

But even the esteemed Captain was wordless as his steely gaze bore into Eren and the Falka. Eren raised his hands gently, palms facing the dragon as it approached him. The Falka snorted aggressively.

"Hey, it's okay," Eren cooed, "it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you,"

Then, the dragon watched as Eren began to remove his military jacket, dropping it from his shoulders and slipping his arms out of it. The lack of jacket made Eren look considerably thinner.

"… I'm not one of them." He said in a final tone as he tossed the jacket aside, the trainee insignia facing skyward.

The Falka's growls had lessened as it took Eren's actions in. To it, this boy showed no sign of being a threat; his aura calm and soothing. It could even smell another dragon's scent on him, a female, it could tell. As far as the dragon knew, this young human male posed no threat.

Suddenly, Levi stepped forward, "Stop the fight," he demanded in his deadly tone.

"No!" Eren said, his hands reaching out once more, "I need you all to this,"

His hands were so close to the beast's snout, the grey mass stepping closer and closer as its long tail swished back and forth. Its eyes were now wide and warmer, like how Eren remembered Siegfried's eyes when she was happy.

"The dragons are not what we think they are," he spoke, "I can prove to you that we don't have to kill them."

By this point, Levi had made the grave mistake of losing his patience with Eren, "I said STOP THE FIGHT!" He roared, grabbing hold of the cage chains.

The chains rattled loudly and Eren had the shortest warning as the Falka's brown eyes narrowed and was able to draw back his hand before the dragon could bite it off.

"AAAAAGGGHHHHHH!" Eren screamed in terror as he was caught off guard and fled in the opposite direction away from the beast.

Eren fired his gear and shot up off the ground. Immediately, the dragon gave chase and followed after him. As it screeched and roared in rage, Eren flew his guts out to keep the distance between them. The boy couldn't even remember the Falka's flight pattern he was so frightened. He could hear and even feel the grey feathers beating down on the air. There was nothing the seniors could do; should anyone be sent in right now, the Falka would be too unpredictable to handle and could end up killing so many people if it got out.

"EREN!" Mikasa screamed, breaking through the entrance and flying in on her gear.

"Hurry, Mikasa!" Armin cried from the still closed gate.

Mikasa could see that Eren was struggling to get away, the Falka was too fast. She had nothing on her, no blades and no net. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the two blades Eren had dropped earlier and rushed over to them. She hastily attached them to her gear and took off into the air.

"Eren!" She called out, cutting him and his pursuer off.

The second Eren flew past, Mikasa threw the blades with precision and power towards the dragon. The beast saw the attack just in time and was able to narrowly avoid getting severed by the flying metal. The blade wedged deeply into the wood behind the monster. However, this now drew the dragon's attention onto Mikasa and in an angry screech, her charged after her. Now the two kids were flying for their lives, weaving in and out of the posts to get away from the raging Lethal Falka. Eren's breathing had turned to rasps as his lungs burned and heart pounded in fear. He had seen Mikasa save him for the time being but now he just worried for the both of them.

"THIS WAY!" Someone roared from the gate.

Eren and Mikasa looked to see Armin standing with Erwin and Levi who looked to have opened the gate wide. Immediately, they flew over, racing to get to the gate before the Falka got to them. Mikasa, who was closer, made it safely into the arms of Erwin first, panting and gasping. Eren was a split second behind and he was just too slow.

"Gyaah!" He screamed as the Falka grabbed him from behind, biting down on his gear and then threw him back.

"Eren! No!" Mikasa cried as Eren was torn from inches away.

Eren grunted as he painfully hit the ground and rolled a few metres. When he rolled onto his back, he then felt an enormous amount of weight crush down on his chest.

"Ghk!" He groaned as tried to remove the mass.

He looked up to see the Lethal Falka snarling in his face. It had pinned him down with its paws and trapped him with its long talons. Eren grabbed hold of the paws but they just would not budge. He began to panic, fear welling up inside him. The dragon reared its head back, mouth slowly opening as it prepared to gorge on the boy. Eren closed his eyes and the moment he did, he heard the familiar whistling of wings cutting through air that made him feel both relief and dread.

*****

The instant Eren's first scream escaped his throat, his voice carried all the way across the island to a pair of sensitive, golden ears. The said golden ears perked up immediately. Siegfried's head snapped up, wide awake from her nap. It was a familiar sound that confused and frightened her and she recognised it as Eren's distressed voice instantly. With a cry of determination, Siegfried leaped up and took off, spreading her golden wings wide. She was too late to remember that Eren had closed her tail wing for this reason, and she came crashing down again. More faded screams reached her, and Siegfried became relentless. She knew she had to get to Eren as soon as possible. He was in danger and she wanted to save him. Siegfried galloped up to the cove wall and jumped, her talons locking onto the rock face tightly and began to scramble up. It was incredibly difficult with her long legs and she fell a lot of times, but the dragon didn't give up. At some point, she found a secure footing and successfully made it over the edge. But she didn't rest there. Siegfried bolted straightaway, her leg length suddenly very useful as she galloped through the forest, leaping over rocks, logs and ledges with ease. She screeched and squealed her cries of determination, praying for her human's safety. Eren's screams had stopped which made her run harder, even attempting to fly. Even when she made into human territory, she did not slow, and came at the arena full pelt.

*****

Eren didn't even have time to look. A loud tingling sound of shattered chains rung through the arena and Eren suddenly felt the great weight upon him get knocked off with tremendous force. Eren was tossed to the side as the grey Falka's talons dragged him along for a bit. Looking up from the ground, Eren could see two massive dragons clash together in a vicious fight, one golden and the other grey.

"S-Sig," Eren coughed, getting up onto his hands and knees.

Both dragons roared as they came together in a loud crack, reared up on their hind legs. Now standing nearly four meters tall, they locked their razor sharp talons together. Eren watched in terror as the grey Falka's slight height difference gave it the advantage and it knocked Siegfried down onto her back. It instantly went to kill her, teeth bared and Eren screamed. But Siegfried was quick and dodged her head to the side and attacked the grey Falka's own unprotected neck. Her teeth sunk in, immediately drawing blood and the grey Falka shrieked in agony. It then brought its paws down on Siegfried's chest to try and knock her off but she held strong. When the punches became too much, Siegfried kicked the grey Falka off of her and away from Eren. When both dragons had righted themselves, they snarled, wings open and teeth bared. The grey Falka saw Eren behind the golden dragon and lunged to attack him, but Siegfried threw herself in front. Eren watched as Siegfried fought off the grey Falka, chasing it away and protecting Eren with her life. Eventually, the grey Falka retreated, clearly aware that it wasn't going to win this fight.

"Sig!" Eren shouted, forcing himself to his feet and running after her.

Siegfried turned to nuzzle him, wanting to make sure he was okay, but Eren pushed on her face, crying out to her desperately.

"Come on, Sig, you gotta get out of here!" When Siegfried didn't move, Eren became frantic and pushed harder, "Go! GO! PLEASE!"

Eren suddenly heard the sound of gas firing and wires being launched and looked up to see Levi flying straight towards them, Major Hanji and Colonel Shardis just in front of him. Siegfried saw the threat and immediately became protective of Eren, lowering her head and snarling menacingly.

"No! No, guys! She won't hurt you!" Eren tried to reason, holding onto Siegfried as best he could.

But Siegfried was too strong and wouldn't listen to Eren. She took off, ripping out of Eren's grip as she challenged the leaders head on. Eren thought that she was going to get sliced up immediately but Siegfried dispatched of Hanji and Shardis, dodging their attacks and effortlessly knocking them out of the sky. The two adults yelled out and crashed to the ground, leaving a clear space between the dragon and Captain. Levi had a murderous expression on his face and he shot towards the golden Falka like a bullet, blades drawn and pointed. Siegfried was likewise, blue eyes locked on and talons open.

_"__GOD, NO!"_ Eren cried as they clashed together.

As both had aimed to kill, Levi and Siegfried had to block their opponent's attacks which caused them to lock together and fall out of the air. They fell and crashed onto the ground, rolling a bit as they fought over for dominance. Siegfried won enough ground and was able to pin Levi down by his arms and prevent him from using his swords. When Eren saw Siegfried open her jaws to bite down on him, he rushed forward, screaming.

"No, Siegfried, stop!" His teal eyes wide, "No! _NOOOOO!"_

At the last possible second, Siegfried heard Eren's plea and stopped herself in time. She turned her head to look at him, an apologetic look on her face that said _'__I'm sorry, Eren, I was just trying to protect you'._

Eren was paralyzed, his body shaking as he stared back at her. Unfortunately, both of them had forgotten about Levi being pinned underneath Siegfried long enough and he used this opportunity to swing his leg up and swipe a vicious kick on the dragon. Siegfried yelped in pain and her grip slipped on Levi allowing him to free himself and knock her down. Before either Eren or Siegfried could react, Levi fired his net and began to ensnare Siegfried, coiling the spare ropes around her body in one fluid motion. The dragon whined and yelped, frantically trying to fight the bonds, but Levi's capture was too perfect.

"Please don't hurt her!" Eren begged.

He thoughtlessly rushed forward but was stopped by Armin and Mikasa who held him back. They could only watch as the seniors all dived in the arena to secure the two Falkas and drag them away to the stables. Erwin watched with a stone face, completely expressionless as his cold blue gaze observed the awful scene before him.

"Levi," he said in a monotone. The Captain turned to his attention instantly, "Bring Jaeger and his friends. We have something to discuss."

As the Commander walked away, Eren felt Levi viciously yank him forward by his shirt, and was dragged away to the leader's quarters. Both Armin and Mikasa were taken too and the kids were roughly pulled along. Eren felt like one of the dragons when Levi was controlling it.

"You better have a good fucking explanation for this, you piece of shit," Levi spat at Eren as he threw him through the door to the Commander's office.

*****

"I'm so sorry, Sir! I didn't mean for it to go this far! Just please, let me expla- _Uhfk!"_

Eren's begging was cut off as Levi's boot brutally smashed into his bent over stomach. Eren collapsed, gasping for air from the impact. He tried to lift himself up onto his hands and knees but all of his day's injuries came rushing back and he dropped once more.

"Heichou! Please! Stop it!" Mikasa cried.

Both she and Armin had been forced to witness the scene before them and were being held down onto chairs by faceless seniors. They were forbidden to speak on Eren's behalf. Levi stood beside Eren's crippled body as he adjusted his white gloves. The Commander stood in front of his desk, his unreadable face half shadowed in the light.

"I knew something was up the moment you and Arlert began using unknown techniques in the ring." Levi spoke calmly, though his voice made Eren shudder, "Do you realise the seriousness of the situation you three are all in? Especially you, Jaeger," Levi nudged Eren with his foot, making the boy groan.

Eren scrambled to try and save them all, "I do sir!" He grovelled, "I understand perfectly! So please, leave my friends out of this and take this out on me! Just don't hurt Siegfried!" Eren looked up with wide pleading eyes.

"Oh, I will take this out on you." Levi muttered darkly and leaned down to grab Eren by the hair. The young soldier yelped and gritted his teeth, "Is that dragon all you care about? Not the people you almost _killed?"_

On his last word, Levi smashed Eren's face into the wooden floor with a sickening crack. Mikasa and Armin both cringed and looked away, tears running down their faces while Erwin remained unresponsive.

"Gkkh!" Eren grunted, "S… She…"

Levi lifted his face to hear him more clearly. Tears were forming in Eren's own eyes and his nose began to bleed. Levi 'tsked' at the mess he was making.

"She was just… Protecting me…" Eren murmured, dazed, "S-she's not… Dangerous!"

Levi released Eren and stood straight again, lifting his leg above Eren's back, "Those dragons have stolen _thousands of us!"_ the short man cracked his foot down on Eren's back, painfully knocking him flat on the floor.

_"__Augh!"_ Eren cried, gasping on the floor, struggling to breathe, "N-not for the reason you think!"

Levi then rolled him over onto his back and rested his foot threateningly on the boy's stomach.

"They steal humans because they have to!" He gasped, trying his hardest to get through to the seniors, praying for them to understand, "If… If the dragons don't bring enough victims back, they'll be eaten themselves," his eyes bore pleadingly into Levi's who returned him with a cold stare, but Eren continued, "t-there's… Something else on their island, it-it's a drag-"

"Oh? Their island?" Levi said in a dangerously silky voice.

"So you've been to the nest?" Erwin finally spoke up from the shadows.

Levi harshly lifted Eren up on to his knees and forced his head back to look up at the Commander. Armin and Mikasa could only watch as everything in their lives seemed to crumble.

"Y-yes-" Eren stammered.

"How did you find it?" Levi hissed, cranking Eren's neck back.

"Ack! N-no! I-I didn't! Siegfried did; only a dragon can find the island…!"

Only when he had already let the words slip out of his mouth did Eren realise his grave mistake. The two leaders looked up at each other, unspoken commands exchanging between them as two genius minds worked together.

"Oh, no-no!" Eren panicked, his eyes widening in realisation of what the leaders were thinking, "Sir! No, please! It's not what you think it is!" He fought against Levi's grip to try and get their attention, "You don't know what you're up against, it's a threat we didn't even know existed!"

"Listen to him!" Mikasa shouted but was instantly silenced by a senior.

When the adults continued to ignore him, Eren became desperate, and began to thrash, "Please! Listen to me, you can't win this fight! The dragons are not our enemy! You have to trust me!"

Erwin gave a slight nod to Levi and walked past him to his door, gesturing for the seniors to follow with Armin and Mikasa.

"Ready the ships." Was all he said.

As soon as Erwin passed him, Levi resumed to hammering Eren, smacking his leg and foot viciously into the boy's body, aiming for those soft, unprotected parts.

"Gyahh…! Kugh…! _Uughh…! KYAGH…! GYAGH…! AUGHH…!"_

Eren's grunts, moans and yells of pain only became louder and more agonised as the assault went on. Mikasa fought and screamed for Eren, tears streaming down her face as each cry hit her like a knife to the heart. Armin could barely contain himself, the utter brutality of it all upsetting him greatly and he gritted his teeth as he was led out with Mikasa.

Inside the office, Eren could barely breathe through his battering, each attack knocking the wind out of him, leaving him with nothing but pain. As Levi punished him, the Captain went on to lecture the soldier every now and then between pauses. He would lift Eren by the hair or roll him over onto his back to make the young soldier face him.

"You cannot begin to fathom the rules you have broken and the lives you have risked since the last raid, Jaeger." He spoke casually, "Lucky for you, not only can I make a complete list of what you have done, but also punish you accordingly for it all."

Eren gagged and gasped as the blood from his nose and mouth spilled into the back of his throat and made him choke.

"For sparing the life of a dragon," Levi began, "you have broken your oath to the military of the Isle of Maria… You have betrayed all of your brethren and in turn, betrayed humanity… And you have potentially aided the very force that threatens all of us." He rolled Eren around again and pressed his boot against his face, "You'll be lucky to be banished from the Island. How do you feel about all that?"

Eren weakly raised a trembling hand up to Levi, "Please… Levi… Listen to… Me…" Eren murmured, clearly struggling to fight the pain.

"Tch! As if I will ever listen to a traitor of humanity." Levi spat and delivered a final kick that sent Eren flying.

Satisfied with his work, Levi fixed his uniform and walked to the door. Before he exited though, he turned back to look at Eren, who was a miserable mess on the floor.

"You have thrown your lot in with the demons of the skies, Jaeger." His voice had a feeling of finality in it and Eren could hear every word, "You are not a soldier, Eren. _You are not the Wings of Freedom."_

*****

Armin and Mikasa waited for Eren to emerge from the office with Levi, though their hopes were rather fictitious. Their fears were confirmed when Levi appeared without Eren and he stalked past them without even glancing at them once.

"They have two hours of freedom before we set sail with the dragon." Mikasa's sharp ears perked up, "Be sure to lock them away by the time we have gone."

When Armin and Mikasa were finally released, they rushed into the office to find Eren in a crippled heap on the floor. His breathing was laboured and blood was beginning to pool around his face.

"Eren! _Eren?!"_ Mikasa cried, rolling him onto his back and checking for a response.

"Eren, can you hear me?" Armin asked in a steady voice.

"Uuuhh… Ye… Aahh…" Eren wheezed. It was clearly an effort for him.

"Can you tell me how you're feeling?" Armin inquired.

There was a pause before Eren responded, his breaths heaving in preparation to speak, "Hh… Huurt…sss" the boy whimpered.

"I know, Eren," Armin said, understandingly, "Look, Eren, you have to get up. Can you stand?"

"...Uh-huh," Eren confirmed the affirmative.

Mikasa and Armin then helped Eren to get on to his feet, supporting him under his arms.

"Eren, we have to hurry," Mikasa said, "they're going to the island and they're taking Siegfried to lead them there."

Eren reacted like he was shot with adrenaline, "W-what? Sig? We have to stop them!" Eren tried to move forward but was weak and slow with a slight limp in his gait.

"Eren," Mikasa said in a sad softness that made Eren's heart plummet, "we can't save her. They're going to lock us up before they go. We have two hours of freedom left." She looked to see Eren with his bruised lip trembling and tears welling up in his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Eren. I thought that you would at least like to go see her one last time…?"

There was a pause before Eren sniffed and nodded, "Yeah… Okay."


	13. Chapter 12 - Battling the Dragon Titan

Eren, Armin and Mikasa were all escorted by a couple of seniors as they carried Eren's limping body to the docks. Eren never remembered the walk being so long and willed his legs to move faster. He winced in pain.

"Careful, Eren," chided Mikasa, "don't make it worse,"

Eren would have naturally ignored her, or even protested, but he was too busy choking down tears to even speak. As they made their way down, there were troops of seniors everywhere, hauling cargo in the same direction or gearing up for the final attack Erwin had so suddenly planned. Eren received various looks ranging from glares of disappointment to gazes of downright pity. He could feel the shame pressing down on him like a boulder, but it was nothing in comparison to the pain he was feeling for Siegfried. It seemed that Erwin planned to use her to lead the ships directly to Dragon Nest Island. Eren couldn't even tell the adults about the real monster that dwelled there and warn them about the horror they were all charging headlong into. By the time his friends hauled Eren to the cliffs to see the ships, they were almost full already.

"There." Armin said quietly while pointing to the leading ship.

On the pier was stationed the golden dragon Eren had come to adore so much. Straps and ropes binding her entire body, she was being pulled onto a large device with heavy wooden flooring. The dragon squealed in fear and fought the humans who were dragging her forward. Eventually, Siegfried caved in and was fully on the platform. The soldiers then worked to make her kneel on all fours, forcing her into an uncomfortable, suspended state, before tying her down with bars and chains.

Siegfried cried and yelled in fear as she was bonded and Eren's heart broke as he heard her calling for help. The device was then attached to a crane which loaded it onto the boat. There was a moment where the cage rotated and Siegfried looked up in time to see Eren high up on the cliffs. The instant she found him, her screams became more desperate and she thrashed in her confinement, rattling the chains. Eren almost burst into tears right there and then, but he bit the inside of his cheek so hard to hold back. Eren didn't want her to see him do nothing, but it was too late. The three teenagers watched until the boats were loaded and left, vanishing over the horizon.

It was at that point where their two hours were up, and all three of them were escorted to their incarcerations. They were led by the seniors to a rather heavily fortified building that had thick stone walls and tiny windows over two metres high up. This was where they detained soldiers or villagers who had committed a crime of sorts until they were given their sentence. Though this almost never happened, when the sentences were carried out, it was usually community service for a set time. As a result, it looked more like a broom cupboard mixed with an abandoned office. Eren was reminded of both Levi and Hanji. All three teenagers were thrown into separate neighbouring cells, imprisoned behind black iron bars. The floor and back walls were cold and clammy and were furnished with a wooden bench to sleep on and a bucket to excrete in. While Armin took a seat on his bench and Mikasa paced around, Eren simply sat in the corner, arms hugging his knees to his chest and remained mostly unresponsive for the duration of their confinement.

"I'm so sorry, Eren. This is a mess," Mikasa said, trying to reach out to him.

She was about to start pacing again, when a small voice returned her call.

"Apologising won't save them." Eren croaked. There was another pause and then he sighed, "I should have just killed it when I had the chance." He muttered more to himself, "I could have finally joined the Wings of Freedom, and no one would be feeding themselves to that monster right now,"

"Don't say that, Eren," Armin said, rather hurt by his words, "aside from learning the truth about dragons and the titans, which, in all fairness, is pretty damn important," Mikasa looked at him the moment he said 'damn' which was unusual for him, "you have never been happier than when you were on the wings of Siegfried, no matter how great the Wings of Freedom might be."

Eren looked up from his knees to Armin. The blond continued, standing up from his bench and walking over to his cell bars, taking them in his hands.

"I've seen you fly, Eren. I've seen you and Sig fly like one being in the sky, and I saw you kill a titan together." He smiled softly, "I know that you would give up the Wings of Freedom any day for the wings of Siegfried, Eren. You're just covering up the guilt you feel for what's happened. So please, don't say things you don't mean, okay?"

Though Armin's words were deep, emotional and even motivating, Eren managed to somehow feel even worse about himself, and shrugged, saying, "You're right,"

Mikasa thought that Armin was kind and tender to Eren, giving him a gentle chance to pull his shit together. Seeing that the boy was refusing to cooperate, she decided to have a go.

"Well, if you're so sad about not doing such a simple thing as killing a dragon right in front of you," she chose her words carefully, brutally, "then ask yourself this, Eren; Why didn't you?"

Eren's shoulders stiffened and Armin looked nervous.

"Mikasa, is now really the time to-" Armin started but the girl cut him off.

"Why didn't you, Eren?" She pressed.

Eren shifted uncomfortably, but didn't turn around, "I dunno," he grunted like a particularly moody adolescent, "I couldn't,"

"That's not an answer, Eren-"

"Why is this so suddenly important to you of all people, Mikasa!?" Eren practically roared, standing up slowly due to his bruises and facing her.

"Because I want to remember what you say right now," she said with equal harshness, stepping up to the bars that separated them.

"Oh, for fucks sake-I am some deficient human being, I suck at the one job I have to do, and I am a suicidal bastard who _wouldn't kill a fucking dragon!"_ Eren ranted. He would have been flailing his arms around if he wasn't in so much pain.

"You said 'wouldn't' that time," Mikasa interrupted.

Eren seethed, "Well whatever, Mikasa! I wouldn't! Seven generations of dragon killing and I am the goddamn FIRST who wouldn't!"

He panted, his rant over though still clearly upset, and gripped his aching ribs. He turned away from Mikasa's powerful stare like a bad child and held himself in his arms.

"… First to ride one, though," Mikasa said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

Eren turned back to her and saw an encouraging look, one that was allowing him to continue.

He sighed, "… I didn't kill her because… The moment I looked into her eyes I saw everything about myself in her. I saw that she wasn't a mindless killing machine or a vicious murderer. I saw how scared she was to be underneath me and at my mercy, like how we are when underneath them or the titans. I saw someone as frightened as myself, who begged for forgiveness one last time. I didn't kill her, because I knew that I could never forgive myself if I did."

Armin and Mikasa listened closely to Eren's words. Usually when he was speaking sober thoughts, he was shouting. This was an interesting change.

"I bet she's really scared now," Mikasa said eventually, "what are you going to do?"

Eren wiped his face with the back of his hand and opened his mouth to answer when someone spoke first.

"Hey, guys! Are you in here?"

Eren blinked and ran to his cell door, "Jean!?"

"Who else, you suicidal bastard?" The tall boy entered the corridor with Marco standing behind him.

"What are you two doing here?" Armin said, his eyes wide.

"We came to see how you were doing." Marco answered, "There's no seniors left on the island except for a couple, so we came in to check on you."

"I have to admit, Jaeger," Jean said, a snide tone in his voice, "that shit you pulled in the arena today was the best thing I ever saw. Shame it resulted in your banishment."

"Jean, you have to listen to me!" Eren cried desperately, grasping his cell bars, "Everyone is in danger and are going to die if we don't do something now!"

Jean gave Eren a patronizing stare, his arms folded and his nose turned up slightly. Marco, however, stepped forward.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that what the seniors are going to find at the dragon nest is a dragon titan!"

There was a long silence. Marco and Jean stared in absolute disbelief and shock.

"Are you serious?" Jean said eventually.

"I swear to god, Jean, it's true!" Eren said.

"He's been trying to warn everyone but no one would listen to him," Mikasa added.

"We saw it with our own eyes!" Armin squeaked, "The dragons that come to raid us are used by the dragon titan to bring in humans to eat. You have to let us go and warn them!"

"Not only will everyone die," Eren said gravely, "but god knows what will happen if that things gets out."

Both Marco and Jean had paled so badly, it was a wonder they both hadn't fainted.

"But what exactly do you plan to do if we get you out?" Jean asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I promise I have a plan," Eren said, "but I need your help." He stared at Jean with wide, asking eyes, "Please, Jean."

There was a pause, "Tch! Fine. I'll be damned if I let Armageddon happen because I didn't let the suicidal bastard out of his man-cage." He nudged his friend behind him, "I'll get the keys."

Eren, Armin and Mikasa could hardly believe their ears.

"So… You're going to help?" Armin asked as if he was scared Jean was going to come back and change his mind.

Marco put on a forced smile, "Of course. According to us, you guys haven't done anything wrong."

As Marco finished his sentence, Jean returned with Connie and Sasha in each hand, "These two were eavesdropping," he said as he tossed them down.

Both Connie and Sasha made loud noises of complaint as their faces met the cold, dank floor.

"Jean, you were supposed to get the keys, not the kids," Mikasa said.

"Duh, what do you take me for?" He lifted his hand and spun the ring of keys around his index finger. They jingled lightly, "The seniors just leave it on a hook in the next room."

"Oh."

"Waaaahh! Please don't kill us!" Sasha wailed, "We only wanted to hear what you oldies were talking about!"

"But now I wished I didn't!" Connie moaned, "Now everyone is going to die! And we'll all be eaten by the dragon titan! And the island will be taken over by the dragon titan! And the-!"

"Fucking Hell, Connie, shut up!" Jean snapped, "Now get off the floor you two, I hate your grovelling."

Both Connie and Sasha obeyed and looked on at the others with sad eyes, "So is it true?" Sasha asked.

"Is there really a dragon titan waiting on the island?" Connie finished.

Before Eren could answer, Jean spoke, unlocking the cells as he did, "Yes, it is true. And we are going to help these three assholes stop shit fucking up."

Eren couldn't help but feel warmth spread through him, "Thank you, Jean. You have no-"

"Ugh! Cut the soppy crap, Jaeger and tell us what to do!" Jean cut him off.

Eren was stunned for a second, but with a determined smirk, he spoke.

"Follow me," he waved to them all and ran from the cells in pull pelt.

*****

All that could be heard were the chugging engines of the steamboats and the sea's water sloshing against their steely sides. The entire fleet had left Maria and were already at the misty edge of dragon territory. The massive, silvery wall loomed over the boats ominously, its colour in pale contrast to the boats' coal black smoke from the funnels. Erwin stood proudly at the bow of the leading boat, his intent to enter the fray without a second thought evident on his expression.

Behind him was the Lethal Falka, bound to the ground by the strange device. She had fallen quiet the moment they had left Maria and she stared solemnly at the wooden floor. There was a quiet hum as the soldiers worked their stations, but the moment their boats entered the fog, an eerie silence took over. There were jagged rocks laced all throughout the fog, all sharp and big enough to pierce the metal hull of careless steamboats. The soldiers invaded, cutting through the uncharted territory as quietly and slowly as possible. Erwin stared straight ahead, his cold blue eyes like lasers as they narrowed on the fog. Captain Levi flanked him the whole time, like a shadow, loyal and unheard.

"Commander?" A familiar voice spoke out with unusual anxiety.

The Commander didn't even turn to see who had spoken but raised his hand to allow Major Hanji to speak.

"Ah, the battle plans have been made, Sir," they spoke with uncertainty.

"Very well," Erwin said, bluntly.

Hanji fidgeted, "Uhm, if I may, Sir?"

"You may,"

"Thank you, Sir." Hanji twiddled their fingers, making Levi scowl, "Uh, I may not necessarily be speaking on my behalf - but definitely some others - not all of course - but some are wondering, ah, if this is really the right course of action to take, considering the circumstances and the extent of our knowledge on the situation-?"

But Hanji's question was never answered, for before they had even properly finished, Erwin had turned around and silenced them, brushing past and locking his attention onto the dragon down at his feet. Levi and Hanji stared as the Falka seemed to be reacting to something. Her ears and crest feathers were raised and were quivering in various directions. She was constantly tilting her head as if searching for a signal and her eyes flickered between in and out of focus. Erwin's eyes were hard as he carefully watched the dragon when suddenly, her head shot up as high as it would go and her nose pointed at an angle. Instantly, Erwin rushed off to the control cabin, his feet light and swift as he climbed the metal steps and entered the small room. Without even explaining, he pushed the captain from the steering wheel and took over.

Levi and Hanji rushed in after him, just in time to see him turn the boat in the general direction of where the dragon was looking. Levi swiftly turned on another officer and commanded him to alert the other boats to stay close. With a look of serious concern on their face, Hanji slowly stepped towards the window which separated them from the outside and stared at the dragon. She had now turned her head and was facing the other direction. Erwin responded and turned the boat to the appropriate bearing. This went on for a while as the dragon's nose led them slowly through the waters.

"I do not recognise these parts," Hanji murmured as their brown eyes trailed over the looming rocks.

They were darker than usual, and free from holes caused by the hooks of 3D Manoeuvre Gear.

"Something stinks," Levi muttered suddenly.

Hanji blinked and took a sniff themselves. It was true! A sick, rotten smell permeated the air, subtle as it was; it was enough to make any seasick sailor retch.

"We have found it," Erwin said with finality in his tone.

There were disturbed roars and shrieks coming from the dragon as she thrashed against the chains and bars. The fog was dispersing and a dark shadow loomed over the fleet. Soon, the entire volcanic island could be seen and every soldier stared up in awe at it. The boat's engines stopped and the metal hulls carved through the stony sand and beached themselves. The last of the steam puffed silently into the air as the fires were cut off.

Erwin left the cabin and, followed closely by Hanji and Levi, rushed to the bow again, passing Siegfried without even glancing. He took the sight in like it was a prize stag he had hunted himself and scanned the cliff walls. His ears could detect a high pitched humming sound, like the noise of a thousand birds chirping in the trees. Without a word, Erwin jumped from the boat, his leather boots making the wet stones clatter as he landed. The moment his feet touched dragon territory, the chirruping ceased, like someone had closed the door to a room of many busy people.

The Commander's heart hammered in his broad chest.

*****

"You ready, Eren?" Armin called ever so slightly anxious.

But Eren's face remained confident and he smiled like so with a calm nod, "Ready," he breathed.

Armin grunted as he pulled the leaver that locked the grey Falka's stable door. The wooden barriers opened slowly with Eren standing right between them. At a proximity this close, Eren could see the colossal gashes in the wood as deep as the width of his own body. But Eren wasn't scared. Actually he was rather excited. He first heard the soft purrs, lower than the purrs of his Siegfried, emerge from the darkness, followed by the gigantic shape of the grey toned Lethal Falka.

The large brown eyes locked on Eren again, wary as ever, but that was expected. Eren dropped his shoulders and lifted his palm to face the dragon. Immediately, the Falka's eyes trained on Eren's palm, and it began to follow him. Eren stepped backwards, closer to the group of six teenagers, four of which fidgeted restlessly. Connie, Sasha, Jean and Marco all stared wide eyed as Eren emerged from the stable with the most feared dragon they had practically eating out of his hand.

Jean, though evidently amazed, tried his best to look at least a little unimpressed. When Mikasa nudged him and gave the boy an encouraging smile, Jean blushed heavily and swallowed, looking straight at Eren again. Eren was backing slowly towards him, the Falka waltzing after him like a large dog, or a tame horse. Eren's hand looked as if it was glued to the dragon's snout, though it was barely grazing the soft grey fur. Eren reached out behind him and took Jean's hand, he could feel it shaking.

"Hey! What are you-!?" Jean snapped before Eren cut him off with soothing hushes and coos.

"Hey, It's okay. It's all right…"

He then took Jean's hand and rested his sweating palms right next to his own, overlapping it slightly. Jean watched the dragon as Eren removed his hand entirely and the Lethal Falka's attention turned on to Jean, a soft cooing noise rumbled through its long throat. Jean couldn't help but release a burst of excited laughter at the sight of a deadly dragon on his fingertips.

"Alright, Jaeger." He shook his head in disbelief, "I'll admit this is fucking awesome."

Eren and Armin proceeded to release five other dragon types and assigned them to a soldier that they believed suited those best. Connie received the Incit Navita while Sasha was given the Pernix. Armin thought that their uncanny sync with each other strongly resembled that of the Navitas' and could be used to their advantage. Marco was given the Laural, whose laid-back demeanor matched that of the tall boy, while Mikasa found herself running her slender fingers through the Deadly Evonna's velvety black fur, captivated by its stunning beauty and blood red eyes.

"Are you sure you can trust me with one?" Armin said, anxiety riddling his voice.

Eren laughed boisterously as the fawn coloured Velx begged to be scratched behind the ears, "Of course, Armin, you're more than capable!" He then led the Velx to Armin and it immediately began to nuzzle him under the ear, "Besides, we don't want to be a dragon short with a dragon titan going around.

Armin smiled his defeat and began to pet the Velx which chittered in delight.

"And I believe you said you had a surprise for us?" Eren said, remembering what Armin had promised as they had made their way to the arena.

Armin nodded excitedly and ran off to the Velx's stall, said dragon trotting after him. He and the dragon then emerged carrying bundles of leather that nearly crippled the boy. Eren and Mikasa rushed over to help Armin with the load. Their eyes widened when they realised what they were holding.

"Armin, this is…" Eren murmured, shocked.

"Mm-hm!" Armin hummed with delight as the other soldiers surrounded the three, their dragons looming over their shoulders, "After I made the first saddle, I just had to continue!" He spread the leather apart to reveal six saddles, all in different sizes, shapes and tones. "Some nights I would sneak into the stables and measure the dragons and then make the saddles to their appropriate size and shape." He began to hand them out to each soldier, "They are all light and come with a saddle blanket to reduce rubbing."

Connie and Sasha fingered the blankets and looked at each other at their surprise of the soft texture.

"Unfortunately I couldn't measure your dragon, Jean," Armin said as he handed a replica of Siegfried's, "But if you loosen the straps it should be fine."

"You did all this by yourself?" Jean asked in disbelief.

Armin nodded, "That's right."

Eren then whacked his friend on the back in an affectionate manner, though it still winded the boy, "I'm so proud of you, Armin!" he cheered, "We better hurry up and saddle the dragons."

"Yes," Mikasa said, "we are under a little time pressure."

Eren nodded and looked to the grey sky.

_I'm coming, Sig. I'm coming._

*****

By now, on the Dragon Nest Island, the soldiers had filled their gas tanks, loaded their blades and fortified the beach where they docked. Erwin was discussing battle plans with the leaders of the squads, including Levi and Hanji. His plan was to use the ships' cannons to penetrate the volcano side and then have the soldiers use their gear to attack the dragons he knew that were going to emerge.

"When we crack this mountain open," he said in the solemn tone, "all Hell is going to break lose." He then rose from his position and took his place at the front of the army, Levi and Hanji flanking him like loyal dogs, "No matter how this ends, it ends today."

He then raised his hand, fingers spread and held his position. He waited until all he could hear was the water lapping on the shore. Then, he clenched his hand into a fist and the cannons fired.

With deafening bangs that shook the soldiers' skulls, the cannons launched the balls at lightning speed to strike into the rock wall. The cracks that followed as the iron balls split the rock echoed for miles around the island, and it didn't even take the full first round to rip open a gaping hole in the island itself.

Erwin gripped his handles tightly as his eyes narrowed down on the black hole that yawned open before him. He gave Hanji the signal and the Squad Leader then fired a red flare into the cave. The bright light whistled through, into the darkness, its starry light illuminating the cave walls which were coated with dragons. Many soldiers swallowed as their eyes met the eyes of the dragons, wide with hard gazes.

Erwin took a deep breath through his nose before expelling it out in a booming roar, "CHAAAAAARRRRGE!"

The entire military force erupted and fired themselves into the air as the hundreds of dragons burst from the cave and flew directly up and away. As no dragon even attempted to fight back, almost every single one of them were able to twist out of harm's way and escape out of reach, while a few unlucky ones were cut down and quickly slaughtered. The three leaders were in disbelief, truly expecting a bloody fight, a war in fact to break out, and could only stare in shock as the dragons flew away as fast as possible into the cloudy sky.

"What is going on, Sir?" Levi asked subtly to his superior.

"WE DID IT!" Someone cheered and the whole army followed as a result.

Blades pointed to the sky and men and women were hugging each other all over the place. Erwin, like a hawk, watched carefully as the dragons fled, as if they were running away from something.

"Sir, something is wrong with the Falka," Hanji said, their eyes trained on the boat it was trapped on.

Desperate howls and screams of terror could be heard along with loud clanging as Siegfried struggled against her chains. Then Erwin could hear it, quiet at first, but it grew, louder and louder behind him, through the rocks he stood upon.

"This isn't over," he said, turning around and bending over into battle position, "Form your ranks! Hold together!"

Levi and Hanji looked at each other briefly before obeying along with the rest of the equally confused army. The rumbling grew louder and now everyone on the beach could feel it. Rocks dislodged from the top of the cave mouth and the leaders were forced to retreat.

"GET CLEAR!" Erwin roared as a bloodcurdling roar blasted through the cave and sent a gust of wind firing out across the beach.

Everyone was overcome with the putrid smell of blood and corpses, and it became clear why; what could only be described as a Dragon Titan emerged from the mountainside and knocked down rocks from twice the original height of the cave ceiling. It was mostly skinless, revealing white tendons and pink muscles while patches of fur and feathers pathetically covered some spots. An immense heat radiated from the monster as it rose is massive square head and opened its mouth to roar. Teeth the length of steamboats revealed themselves to the terrified humans, who most of which were running away, screaming. The titan's footsteps where so huge, the only people who escaped being trampled on were the ones quick enough to use their gear and dart away. Screams and yells were silenced by the dull thud of the talon-equipped paws landing on them.

"What the fuck is that?" Levi said as he struggled to stay by Erwin's side. His voice echoed his disbelief and absolute horror despite his face barely revealing anything.

"A… Titan?" Hanji said, a little choked.

"Holy Maria, help us," Erwin murmured, standing tall as he stared dead at the dragon, "CANNONS!" He ordered.

More lead balls rocketed towards the target, smashing into its body and exploding with contact. Steam erupted where hits landed but the dragon titan barely flinched.

"Get to the ships!" Someone yelled, causing an enormous amount of soldiers to immediately charge towards them.

"NO!" Levi roared, but it was too late.

More soldiers screamed as the dragon titan reached out its long neck and bit through several boats filled with soldiers as easy as butter. The metal whined under the pressure and countless humans screamed in agony and terror. Boat and human parts alike rained down into the water and on the remaining boats, the collision damaging them profusely. There was a loud explosion as the damage to one of the boats was enough to set it on fire, and lit coal rained down below, setting the entire fleet alight. Siegfried cried out and squealed as the fire narrowly missed setting her on fire. But how long for? The boat she was on was already ablaze.

Some humans had taken action and were using their gear in an attempt to fight back. However, the titan proved too much for them and they were flattened easily.

"I've done it again," Erwin muttered to himself as he led his leaders to a less chaotic area of the beach, "Shardis!" he called to the Major, "Lead the men to the far side of the island!"

"Right!" Shardis nodded before flying off to fulfill his duty.

"Captain, Major, go with the men to the other side," Erwin said to his dear soldiers.

He was shocked to see Levi with his arms crossed defiantly and a smile playing of Hanji's lips.

"You can't get rid of us that easily, Commander," Levi said with a somehow both bored and serious look on his face.

"I think we'll stay," Hanji said, "just in case you think of doing something 'Smith-crazy' as usual."

Erwin turned on them, trying to reason, "I can buy everyone some time if I give that titan something to hunt,"

Levi and Hanji only smirked, "Then we can triple that time," the short man said.

Knowing that it was pointless arguing, Erwin briefly smiled his thanks and turned to face the titan. With a rush of gas, Erwin flew up, all the way to the titan's head level, using the beast's own body to latch onto. He was quickly followed by Hanji and Levi who flew with equal aggression and all three drew their blades. The three leaders streaked across the titan's elongated body and sunk their blades into its flesh. Blood and steam spewed from the wounds and they smirked at the result. However, the victory was short-lived when they noticed just how fast the wounds were healing. It was almost instantaneous! The leaders' hearts hammered as they flew for their lives, trying anything to make a difference, even learn something.

They were becoming desperate, the hot air made it hard to breathe but they kept on going. Erwin's eyes flashed with that deadly glow as he savagely tore into the pink flesh. The titan roared in anger, its attention focused on the three humans flying circles around its colossal body.

"Tch! Commander!" Levi roared, annoyed with the lack of progress, "I'm going to aim for its eyes!"

Before even seeking for the confirmation that he was heard, which he was, Levi soared around the front of the titan, arching gracefully across its chest in an upward angle. When he was right in front of the beast's face, he launched his hooks. Except Levi underestimated the titan's reaction speed and grunted as his wires were snapped up in its jaws and was yanked towards him. Levi prepared to get away, but he knew it would be close and would have to time it perfectly.

_"__Shit!"_


	14. Chapter 13 - Counter Attack

The beast opened its mouth to swallow Levi whole when a black streak shot into his vision and out again in the same instant. Blood rained from the Dragon Titan's eyes. Levi now had enough time to right himself and fly away to safety where Erwin and Hanji were.

"Guys! Look!" Hanji screamed and pointed, a look of pure joy painted on their face.

The men looked up to see six dragons they recognised as their own flying in graceful formation with seven of the juniors riding atop.

Levi's mouth formed the words 'What the-?' as his steel gaze followed the feathered beasts through the air as if they were flying horses. The few soldiers who remained in sight stopped and stared for themselves, hundreds of pairs of eyes following the winged beasties in absolute disbelief.

"Every bit of a bone-headed, stubborn piece of shit you ever were," Hanji said in ear-shot of Levi who ignored them.

"Connie! Sasha! Watch your backs!" Levi heard Eren command from the front on the Deadly Evonna.

He was sitting right behind Mikasa who was steering and all of the dragons were clad in the same leather gear that the Falka was. The seniors were shocked to see even Armin astride the Velx, flying smoothly alongside Marco, Jean and the others. What was more, each of the kids were fully dressed and geared up in their 3D Manoeuver Gear, and they all looked to be carrying full sets of swords. It was rather astounding to see the little Evonna not only carry two tall kinds on its back effortlessly, but also two sets of the gear too.

"Look at us!" Connie cheered beside Sasha, "We're on dragons!"

Eren had Mikasa direct the flock in a strong loop around the cove, preparing to round up onto the Dragon Titan for another attack.

"Armin!" Eren turned to his friend, "Break it down!"

"Okay!" The blonde responded, scrutinizing the beast carefully from their safe height, "Proportions of a heavy and equal shape, specializing in strength and endurance. It seems to have no defence but its regenerating speed is insane! Stay clear of the head and tail!"

Eren nodded, showing that he understood, "Okay, Guys! I want you all to find the blind spot and keep it distracted. Do not let it move from this exact spot, got it?!"

"Easy as cake!" Jean smirked, "Everyone knows my good looks are the most distracting in all the Maria Guardians!"

"Since when?" Connie shot back.

"GUYS!" Eren roared to keep them focused, "I do NOT want ANY of you to try and take it down. Play it safe, don't do anything stupid and don't use your gear unless I say so! Armin, take care of them!"

With an elegant twist, Mikasa led the Evonna down and veered away from the flock in search for Siegfried.

"Don't worry, Eren!" Armin called back.

With a stern expression on his face, Armin directed his Velx to take the lead and charge into battle alongside his comrades. The five of them took different paths to examine the Dragon Titan, Armin himself flying under the belly. He was really perplexed to see a significant amount of dull, almost colourless feathers patched all over its body along with clumps of useless fur and couldn't possibly believe that they were really used for flight.

"But then again…" he mused, "Titans are really light and are physically impossible… Could this…?"

By now, Jean and Marco were flying around near the front of the colossal beast, keeping clear of being directly in front. The grey Falka and fellow Lural hovered about, getting their riders as close to the Dragon Titan as they could.

"Hey, Marco!" Jean called confidently.

"Yeah, what is it?" The boy replied from the other side of the titan.

"Watch this!" Jean said before putting his fingers to his mouth and whistling shrilly.

The high pitch shriek pierced the air and there was an immediate response from the Dragon Titan. The monster stopped its attacks and subtly shook its heavy head. It seemed that Jean's whistle was enough to irritate the titan, stopping it from damaging anything else further.

Marco stared in awe, "Jean, how did you know to do that?!"

Jean opened his mouth to reply when he was cut off by Sasha, "Stole it from Jaeger obviously!" She giggled, darting dangerously across the Dragon Titan's face.

With mirth, Sasha landed her Pernix Navita on the back of the Dragon Titan, followed closely by Connie and his Incit Navita, and the two of them galloped down the length of the spine, laughing hysterically.

"Tch! Just don't kill yourselves!" Jean reprimanded them like a parent would to his misbehaving kids.

Meanwhile, Eren and Mikasa were soaring above the burning boats in search of Siegfried when their attention was caught by a desperate scream of distress. Looking down to his right, Eren craned his neck to see the shining golden body of his Siegfried squirming frantically on the Commander's boat. The light from the blazing flames reflected off of Siegfried's feathers in brilliant flashes, making her even clearer to see.

"Mikasa! Down there!" Eren shouted, pointing.

His sister instantly manoeuvred down towards the boat where the screaming came from. Eren's eyes were locked onto the Falka and the moment the Evonna began to hover in the air above the boat, Eren dismounted and dropped from the saddle onto the steamboat.

"You be careful, Eren!" Mikasa shouted.

"I will!" He replied, "Go help the others!"

The moment Mikasa nodded and flew away on the Evonna, Eren turned to Siegfried who looked like the happiest dragon in the world, despite the sheer panic reflected in her eyes. She mewled and squeaked her joy to see Eren finally come back for her, and tugged on her bonds despite them already rubbing her skin raw. Eren could see tears lining her eyes, confirming that dragons indeed cry.

"I'm here, Sig! I'm here, just hold on!" Eren soothed gently yet firmly as he began to unbuckle and unchain the easier bonds.

Siegfried watched intently as he rushed to free her, keeping quiet so as not to stress him. Eren huffed in frustration at the more complex and heavy chains, ones that needed keys to their locks. Without even thinking, Eren drew one of his blades and began attacking the locks and joints of Siegfried's cage. When Eren seemed to be taking an uncomfortable amount of time, Siegfried chirruped, huffing and snorting.

"I know, I know!" Eren growled, his teeth gritted from training on the locks.

He wiped sweat from his forehead as the heat was beginning to get to him and he panted out of fatigue.

By now, the Dragon Titan had become bored of Jean's infuriating whistles and began to swing its massive head while roaring in rage. Its sheer size and surprisingly swift movements caught Jean and Marco off guard and the two of them narrowly missed being smacked by a deadly amount of force.

"Jean! You okay there!?" Marco called once his Lural gained control in the air again.

"I'm fine!" Said boy called back.

"Guys!" Armin cried once he saw Jean and Marco gain altitude once again, "Stay away from the front for now! Distract it from behind! Sasha and Connie are already on it!"

It was true, when Marco and Jean looked behind Armin, they could see the two Navitas scrambling back and forth all over the Dragon Titan's hindquarters. Their talons dug deeply into the titan's flesh and an enormous amount of steam rose up into the air as a result.

Even Mikasa had already begun to participate. She was weaving elegantly around and in between the long back legs of the titan and was expertly commanding her dragon to attack the flesh at various intervals. She even managed to communicate with the dragon to allow herself to strike the titan with her own blades. The Evonna would fly straight towards a limb and angle itself so that Mikasa would be the closest to it when she passed. Then, with perfect aim and timing, Mikasa would lacerate the flesh, and blood would splatter all over the stony beach.

Just when Armin felt like he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, things suddenly went wrong and the Dragon Titan turned around to face its attackers, swinging its tail about in a gigantic arc which smashed into the burning steamboats on the shore.

Siegfried screeched at Eren to move when hot metal came raining down upon them, narrowly missing the two.

"Uwagh! Agh!" Eren screamed as he was thrown back by the force and wave of intense heat.

Eren had barely any time to right himself when Siegfried roared again and looked up to see a massive, heavily clawed paw come crashing down on half of the boat. The boat was split into pieces and sent Eren and his dragon plunging into the freezing cold water. Poor Siegfried, being confined in her cage still, sunk to the bottom of the water like a rock, thrashing desperately to break free. Her eyes were wide and frantic with fear and panic and she struggled to not scream out and lose precious oxygen.

Without even thinking for himself, Eren dived down after her, clawing himself through the dark water to get to his dragon. When he reached her, his lungs were already burning and his head was spinning, but he kept fighting, pulling uselessly at chains and jabbing his sword weakly at the joints. Siegfried could only watch in anguish as Eren began to fade, his movements becoming more and more futile, and fatigued.

When Eren's head finally began to drop, bubbles escaping from his mouth, he was suddenly snatched away by someone, and dragged back up to the surface. Siegfried couldn't hold back her scream for Eren and her vision was impaired by the furious burst of bubbles from her gaping mouth.

*****

Eren suddenly found himself back on land, soaking wet and dizzy from being previously deprived of oxygen. He coughed and gasped in deep lungful's of air and tried to sit up. Though his vision was blotchy, he thought he caught the slightest glimpse of a certain dark haired man dive back into the sea.

"...Levi?" He croaked.

Eren then felt a strong hand on his shoulder and a deep voice say, "Eren? Can you hear me?"

*****

At this point, Siegfried had finally begun contemplating giving up. She stared at the wooden floor she was tied so close to and rubbed her sore knees against it. Suddenly she felt that dark presence again, and looked up to see the short, cold-looking man from before. He stared at her with his sharp, steely gaze and she glared back with equal harshness. She watched him warily, thinking of all the horrible things he had done to her and Eren.

She remembered when he went to attack her and Eren. She remembered when he took Eren away from her, and she remembered how he had treated her all the way to Dragon Nest Island. Though she clearly remembered that dark man from before as clearly as a new, festering burn, the man she saw now, though just as cold, looked at her in a way she didn't think possible; questioningly.

_Can you forgive me and trust me to free you?_

Before Siegfried could even respond to this strange behaviour, the dark haired man gambled his life and drew his swords before her. She could only flinch in fear before the man swung his blades through the water as if it was as dense as air, and slice through her chains like they were wet paper. Now Siegfried found herself in a very strange position; she was free to move and attack at will and this human had handed his life over to her as he hung there in the cold water helplessly.

There was the same cold exchange between the two killers before Siegfried lunged over the human's head and dragged him to the surface as easily and swiftly as a shark swims. The two of them burst through the water surface, Siegfried already in flight as she swiftly flew to the water's edge and carefully but quickly placed Levi on the bank. She landed on the other side of the group of humans who had gathered, shaking water off of her waterproof fur and feathers, and was already encouraging Eren to get on.

Eren was surrounded by Commander Erwin, Major Hanji and Corporal Levi who was dripping miserably with sea water.

A sudden sparkle ignited in Eren's eyes, lighting them back to that glittering teal of passion he usually had, "You got it, Sig," he grinned before running after her and leaping onto her back.

As he positioned himself in the saddle and fixed his gear, his leg was suddenly grabbed and he looked down to see Levi scowling up at him. The Commander and Hanji stood a little further back to give the three some space. There was a slightly awkward moment of silence before Levi finally spoke.

"… I'm… I'm sorry. For everything, Jaeger." The apology came out sort of strangled and forced, like he didn't know how to say it. But it was an apology from him all the same.

"Yeah, me too, Heichou," Eren said softly, understanding his grief.

Levi looked like he really wanted to leave, but stayed, "You kill that motherfucker for me, won't you Eren?"

Eren flashed a grin at his senior, "You bet I will,"

Levi squeezed Eren's leg slightly before dropping his hand, "You really are the Wings of Freedom, Eren."

"… Thanks, Levi." Eren said, a warmth spreading in his chest.

Eren then turned to face Siegfried's front and leaned forward slightly. The dragon then immediately took off and rocketed straight up into the sky at a perfect ninety degree angle. She clawed her way through the air, up and up taking Eren with her to tremendous heights. Out of the corner of her eye, Mikasa saw the streak of gold she recognised as Siegfried, and turned to announce her take off to the others.

"They're up!" She shouted, and turned the Evonna to lead the others out.

She quickly met up with Armin who looked extremely comfortable on his Velx and gestured him to follow.

"Let's get them out of there!" She said.

"Okay!" Armin nodded and banked to the side in sync with Mikasa to the Dragon Titan's rear.

Upon reaching behind the titan, Armin and Mikasa flew up the length of its tail to meet up with Connie, Sasha, Jean and Marco, and told them to follow.

"Armin!" Mikasa called, "You lead the off the titan's front. I'll bring up the rear to make sure no one is left behind!"

"Okay! Stay safe!" Armin shouted before encouraging his Velx forward to the front, closely followed by the others.

All along the entire length of the Dragon Titan's immense spine, the six dragons flew, speeding along as they skimmed across, occasionally dodging a rogue feather as long as a steamboat. Mikasa counted; one… two, three… four, five dragons shoot out and up into the sky, safe and out of reach from the titan's head. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying enough attention to her own position and just as she cleared the monster's gigantic head, she felt a strong gust of wind halt her Evonna in the air. Looking back, Mikasa's eyes widened to see the Dragon Titan's mouth wide open, inhaling an enormous amount air to try and pull her back. The wind was so strong, that the Evonna's tiny sharp wings were struggling to fight it, being more designed for aggressive flight with speed than any real power.

"Come on, girl! Come on!" Mikasa shouted into her dragon's ear reassuringly.

The Evonna snorted her response, and pounded her wings harder, but it was clear she was tiring already. Mikasa's heart sunk painfully as she saw them begin to drop further and further back towards the gaping hole of the titan's mouth.

Then, out of nowhere, that familiar, chilling sound of the air being shattered reached the ears of every human and dragon on the island. It was a shrill, piercing whistle that made every soldier's hair stand on end.

"Lethal Falka!" Someone roared, pointing to the sky where a flash of gold was spotted.

"GET DOWN!" Erwin ordered his men.

Instantly, every soldier on the ground dropped low and covered their heads. Eren Jaeger shot in like a bullet on Siegfried so fast, not even a fellow dragon could have clocked them. In a split second, Eren had directed Siegfried to fly directly in between the open jaws of the Dragon Titan, allowing him to use his blades and sever the jaw muscles. As a result, the Dragon Titan's mouth became momentarily useless as a rush of hot steam exploded from the lacerations. This then caused the Evonna to be thrown forward by the force of hot air filling her wings and Mikasa was dislodged from the saddle. The girl screamed as she tumbled through the air, helpless without her dragon.

Eren, seeing this and already thinking ahead, halted Siegfried in the air and expertly flipped her around, ready to fly in the opposite direction at speed with ease.

"Come on, Sig," Eren murmured to her as they dived down to Mikasa's falling body.

The split second before Mikasa crashed onto the ground, Siegfried effortlessly snatched her up, clasping her foot within her front paw. Siegfried then flew around and away from danger, taking Mikasa across the water to loop around.

"Did you get her?" Eren asked, unable to see under Siegfried's body.

The dragon, now trusting Eren, dropped her head to see Mikasa in absolute awe as she was dragged along. Her black hair flew back in the wind wildly. Siegfried grinned, pulling back her lips to reveal her many sharp teeth at Mikasa in a surprisingly endearing way, despite how scary it potentially looked. She then gracefully flipped Mikasa the right way up and allowed her to land feet first on the beach. The girl stumbled ever so slightly at the speed, but she righted herself and watched as the Falka flew away with her brother on its back.

"Keep him safe," she breathed, her heart pounding in her chest.

Eren directed Siegfried to fly up, wanting to get a good look at the Dragon Titan for himself. Upon reaching several hundred metres high, he looked back to see the beast. It looked to be close to a devastating two hundred metres in length. He realised for the first time that there were actual wings on the titan, explaining the presence of the gigantic feathers.

"Could it really?" Eren thought to himself if it really were possible for the titan to actually fly. There was only one way to find out, "Let's see if those wings are really all that useful!" He said.

Siegfried halted in mid-flight again, and the moment she began to drop back, she twisted herself around to face the Dragon Titan in a dive. Eren aimed for a large space on the titan's back, his teal eyes narrowing down on his target. The whistling had started up again and he drew his blades to attack. The second before Siegfried flew past the titan, she flipped herself upside down and allowed Eren to lift his swords and slash across the back of the Dragon Titan. The attack was instantaneous and there was another loud explosion as a huge amount of steam erupted from the wound. The titan roared an ear-shattering cry that chilled the spines of every living thing within hearing range. It dropped to the ground momentarily as its wound healed, which, to the human's despair, didn't take long at all. They all watched as the limbs upon the titan's back began to move and open up, bits of rock and debris falling down from the lack of use. The monster stood with its colossal wings outstretched.

"Did that work?" Eren said as Siegfried flew away to a safer distance.

They were now above the foggy waters of the sea when the clouds were pushed away to reveal the Dragon Titan in flight and in pursuit. It roared out of rage at Eren's impudence and its beady eyes glistened as they honed in on him.

"Okay, that answers my question," Eren said to Siegfried with dry humour.

The dragon snorted in response and as she felt Eren lean close again, she thrust forward, pounding her large wings to gain speed. Eren then angled her tail and dipped her closer to the water's edge where they weaved in and out of the jagged rocks that stood in their way. Eren hoped that this would throw the Dragon Titan off a little but Eren had underestimated the titan's strength and could hear the rocks being smashed into pieces as the titan simply bowled into them without a second thought. The soldiers' cheered their support for the sudden turn of events, roaring like a mad crowd as Eren shot past on Siegfried. Standing beside Hanji, who was cheering like a child on too much sugar, were Erwin and Levi watching wordlessly and carefully. They knew that everything they stood for was all now in the hands of Eren Jaeger, the boy whom they had criminalized for sparing a dragon's life, and the same boy who was using that dragon to save the lives of the people who had betrayed him.

Seeing that flying low wasn't working and Eren needed a clear shot of the titan if he wanted to make a direct hit on it, the boy looked to the sky to see low, dark storm clouds that looked perfect for cover.

"Let's hide in the clouds, Sig!" Eren shouted.

Siegfried yelped her determination and arched her back up as she felt her tail wing be directed so. She flew with ease, taking Eren up higher and higher, closer to the black, ominous clouds that would provide concealment for them. Eren almost forgot that he was being chased by a titan in the sky as he felt that familiar feeling of his heart soaring as his dragon flew up into the heavens.

He pulled Siegfried back a little, just to make sure that the Dragon Titan's focus was entirely on them until it was too late. He heard a loud gasping noise and looked back to see it with its massive head wide open to bite down on them. He didn't underestimate its biting accuracy and expertly dodged a split second before the jaws clamped down with a crack like thunder. Suddenly, Eren and Siegfried were out of sight and the titan was left hovering in the sky, surrounded by black clouds. Its huge wings clawed through the air to keep it airborne and it swivelled its head back and forth in search for the infuriating Falka and its human rider.

Down on the ground, the soldiers could hear its roars of rage echo through the air and they murmured their doubts and worries for Eren. As the titan searched, it failed to watch out for its own back and had left it exposed for Eren to strike. Siegfried dived in at a perfect angle, safe from any jaws that might come their way, and flipped herself to give Eren a shot at the titan's nape. The Dragon Titan roared as more steam erupted from its neck when it was suddenly hit again, and again, and again!

Eren knew that they had a limited number of shots at this and he knew that he would have to find the weak point as soon as possible. He prayed that the same rules applied and aimed for the spot he was more or less sure was the nape of the Dragon Titan's neck. He had decided to use his blades as they would cut deeper than Siegfried's talons and he had more experience with them. As Eren turned Siegfried back over and over for another attack, flying through clouds of hot air to get to the titan, he observed that this beast had the fastest regeneration speed he had ever witnessed.

Seconds after making a cut, the wounds would already be sealed and the continuous attacks were causing the sky to be filled with hot steam. It was getting harder and harder to fly and breathe now and Eren knew that they were running out of time.

_I just can't make a big enough cut in time!_ Eren thought to himself in panic.

He was pretty sure that all of his hits were on target but he didn't think that he was causing enough damage for fatality. And the titan's regeneration wasn't helping at all, either.

_Come on… THINK!_

Eren went for another shot when he miscalculated and found himself and Siegfried caught up in the explosion of steam. They both screamed in pain as the hot air scalded their bodies and the force damaged Siegfried's tail wing, damaging the joints. Testily flexing it, Eren found it harder to steer now that it was coming loose. They probably had even less time than before until it could possibly drop off. Then the idea hit him. Leaning forward, he breathed close to Siegfried's ear, soothingly as he reassured her.

"Time's up, Sig. Can you trust me?"

Being the loyal creature she was who adored her rider more than anything in the world, Siegfried snorted the affirmative without even doubting Eren. Though, if she could admit that she was scared, she would have.

"Okay," Eren muttered, directing Siegfried to fly above the steaming Dragon Titan.

Siegfried arched her back and began to drop down in a dive towards the beast, dodging the wings and aiming for the titan's head. She roared loudly in a challenging tone, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared. The titan saw them coming and made to bite them, but Siegfried was too fast and shot past like a bullet. She continued to go down, causing the Dragon Titan to follow. It was determined to kill this dragon and her human rider, whatever it took. It wanted to see their blood paint the island below.

As they fell through the clouds, vision was limited but Eren knew that all they had to do was to fly straight. He could feel the titan gaining on them and he knew that Siegfried could undoubtedly feel it too. Small whimpers escaped her throat as she panted; fatigue was kicking in and even a little bit of fear. Eren reached forward and ran his fingers through her soft fur, stroking her gently and hushing her.

"It's okay, Sig, just a little longer. It's all good." Eren soothed, though he was now holding back his own fear.

The boy wondered if Siegfried knew he was scared; she was very good at listening to his heart and making out what Eren was really feeling. They then found themselves in a sort of opening in the clouds and it was now open air around them. The nearest clouds were hundreds of feet above and below them. Eren knew that the Dragon Titan would not be able to resist this shot and he could hear it growl in sick glee. The gasping started again and Eren clutched onto the fur on Siegfried's neck.

"Hold, Siegfried…" Eren closed his eyes, listening… Waiting. _"__NOW!"_ He roared.

Eren flipped the tail wing and Siegfried opened her own wings on either side of Eren. In an instant, the two of them had dodged the bite and were now shooting up past the titan's head as it fell past them. Eren had a second to draw his two swords and aim as Siegfried rolled over until her back was parallel to the titan's. The second they reached the top of the titan's neck, Eren rammed his blades into its damned flesh and allowed Siegfried to drag him along the entire length of the Dragon Titan's neck.

Combined with the titan falling and Siegfried rising, Eren was finally able to quickly destroy enough of the neck before the regeneration could begin. The Dragon Titan screamed as the boy gouged a huge piece of its neck out and blood sprayed from the wound like an ocean wave in a storm. The Dragon Titan fell through the clouds and towards the island until it crashed headlong into it. The sound on impact was deafening and the ground shook with the force. Steam exploded for the last time as the titan was finally slain.

Now Eren was racing against the exploding steam that was catching up to him and Siegfried at an alarming rate. They darted up along the length of the titan's spine, dodging feathers left, right and centre as they tried to escape. They could see the tail looming towards them, a ginormous fan of ragged feathers came flying down with the rest of the body.

Eren flexed his foot to direct Siegfried away, but it was at that unfortunate moment when the bolts in the tail wing finally came loose and the whole device was lost. Siegfried had no control anymore and Eren's eyes widened in panic.

"No…" Eren choked, "NO!"

He felt like this was the end; they were going to be taken down by the Dragon Titan after all, and be cooked alive in its steam. Suddenly, Siegfried yelped and dug her talons into the tail. Eren felt a rough jolt as she landed clumsily and it was a few seconds before he realised that she was galloping along the flesh. Her talons dug in as she clawed her way up the tail like a tree and all Eren could do was hold on. When Siegfried reached the end, she leaped off at an angle and spread her wings again. With an enormous amount to effort, Siegfried dragged herself and Eren to the water's edge as far and as fast as she could.

"Sig!" Eren cried as he felt her begin to lose balance once more. He realised that she had landed on the titan's tail in order to buy some more time for controlled flight, even if it lasted only a second, _"__SIEGFRIED!"_

No matter how hard she flapped her wings, the dragon couldn't stop herself from flying headlong into a tall, jagged rock, and the last thing they heard was a sickening crunch before everything went black for the two of them.


	15. Chapter 14 - Coming Back Around

**After a while, I finally deliver to you patient readers... The last chapter of Attack On Dragon. Enjoy.**

* * *

"EREN! SIGFREID!" Mikasa choked, the intense heat from the eruptions of the now settling steam making it hard to breathe.

"Oi! Eren!" Corporal Levi echoed after her.

The two of them were stumbling through the wreckage of the Dragon Titan's collision into the island; masses of rocks and stones had been uprooted, levelled and hurled through the air in an impressive radius, and the steam from the body was still being released. As Mikasa and Levi scouted ahead in search for the boy and his dragon, the rest of the army followed. They walked slowly, keeping distance behind the two individuals, and walked in a sort of line, like a thick, ominous fog rolling in. Armin stood at the front with his fellow cadets and watched Mikasa and Levi with great anxiety. The steam was still billowing from the carcass and was so thick; one could barely see a few metres ahead of themselves.

"Eren, answer me!" Mikasa cried, her voice tightening as panic began to settle.

She stumbled over some rocks in the direction of the mountain while Live went to the shore. Upon rounding a large jagged boulder, Levi could see the slender body of Sigfreid lying down, her body half submerged in the water.

"Eren!" Levi said, darting over to where the Falka lay and kneeled down by her head.

Mikasa and the others heard him and rushed over to where Levi went. Armin stopped the others from approaching too close while Mikasa ran ahead to skid in the sand and kneel beside Levi.

"Sig!" She squeaked, taking in the wreckage before her.

Almost all of the dragon's saddle had become shredded from the crash and was slipping off of her back due to the lack of straps. A thin leather rope ran down the length of her body and tail, only to meet a single tail wing remaining on the end. She was covered in deep cuts, grazes, and her soaking fur and feathers were ruffled and a total mess. It looked like Sigfreid had dragged herself from the water and had come to lay rest on the beach, exhausted.

As Mikasa called her name, Sigfreid rolled to her side, groaning as she did so. Her wings were wrapped tightly around her legs, hiding them from view.

"Eren…" Mikasa whispered at the lack of his presence, "Is he…?"

Mikasa looked to Levi who had a very dark expression on his face. He was staring directly at Sigfreid who appeared to be stirring. The Falka awoke to the sounds of Mikasa struggling to hold back tears and the sight of Levi kneeling very close to her head. She gave them both very, very tired looks.

"I did this…" Levi whispered with surprising softness.

Sigfreid trained her large, sapphire eyes on the esteemed soldier before her, watching him closely and taking in his honest words and piercing stare. Behind Armin, Jean, Marco and all the other soldiers, the dragons from Maria raised their slender head, and looked over the mass of men and women. Their ears were perked and their eyes wide as they watched Levi and Mikasa kneel before the Lethal Falka.

Mikasa choked on a sob and covered her mouth with her hand as tears betrayed her and fell from her stone grey eyes. She was trembling now and reached forward to grip hold of one of Sigfreid's feathers in hope of keeping herself together. The dragon glanced at her, giving the girl a soft look before returning to Levi.

Levi breathed a small sigh, "… I'm so sorry."

At Levi's words of regret, Sigfreid's eyes softened and she looked down her body to open her wings like curtains. There, gripped tightly by her paws was the sleeping Eren Jaeger, as battered and as drenched as she was.

"E-Eren!" Mikasa gasped as her was revealed to her.

Levi watched as she pulled him towards her and pressed her hear to the centre of his chest. There was a brief, tense moment before Mikasa gasped and spoke.

"He's alive! You brought Eren back alive!"

There was an eruption of cheers as the soldiers heard the wonderful news, Armin heaving a huge sigh of relief, finally feeling like he could breathe again. Even the dragons sang their joy in mews and cries. Mikasa held Eren close to her, crying blissfully into his filthy shirt and thanking Sigfreid over and over again. Levi looked at Sigfreid himself and lifted his hand to place it on her head. The dragon relaxed under his touch and gave him a look that said "You're welcome, Shorty".

"Thank you, dragon, for saving our best soldier."

At that point, Hanji had come over and was leaning over the shoulders of Levi and Mikasa, and said, "I'm calling dibs on making the prosthetic."

Eren's eyes never felt so heavy in his entire life. As his consciousness finally aroused itself, his senses became gradually more aware. He could feel his familiar, warm blankets from his bed wrap cosily around his tired body. His head felt elevated and he began to feel various foreign objects over his body. Eren was still trapped in darkness, however, so he was hesitant to move himself. There was, interestingly, a sort of presence nearby, which made itself known by breathing hot air onto his battered face. Eren could hear clear, but quiet huffs and snorts from a large creature he recognised.

Eren tested his voice, "Uu… Ss… Hhh…"

In response to his unused vocals, the other being pressed their hot, soft snout on to Eren's cheek, nudging him tenderly. They made another, more impatient snort. Eren forced his eyes to open, which took some effort, and waited for his surroundings to come into focus. A large, gold figure filled his vision, which Eren soon made out to be his beloved Lethal Falka, Sigfreid, her head reaching up to the same level he lay at. For a moment, Eren thought that he was dead, and in the afterlife with his dragon; he remembered nothing after the very moment he stuck his blades into the Dragon Titan, probably killing it, and thought that he and Sigfreid had died in the process themselves.

"Hey, Sigfreid…" Eren murmured, lifting his right arm from the covers to reach out to her. He could feel his left arm being restrained.

Sigfreid eagerly leaned forward, her long neck bringing her head closer to Eren and excitedly pressed her head into his loving hand. Her excitement was so immense, that Eren could feel her vibrating under his touch and she whined and chirruped in unparalleled joy. Unfortunately, this excitement led her to forget how awfully huge she was, and she began to climb all the way onto the upper bunk bed Eren lay in, pressing her fore-knees down and crawling over. She also forgot, in her excitement, that Eren was under the covers, and the poor boy suddenly felt an enormous amount of weight press itself down on to his stomach.

"AUGH! SIG!" He lurched up, Sigfreid backing off immediately and he fell back down, groaning, "Uuughh…"

Staring at the ceiling as he waited for the pain to subside, Eren then realised that is was _his_ ceiling he was looking at.

"Ahh," he blinked, "I'm… In my room?" He looked back at Sigfreid who was standing like an over-sized puppy at the side of his bed, her head easily reaching over due to her height, "_You're_ in my room!?"

Seeing that he was now fully wide awake, Sigfreid yelped for joy and began bounding around the small cabin room that held six other bunk beds. Sigfreid's long wings and tail flailed madly about as she ran circles, knocking various objects and personal belongings off of desks and shelves.

"Oh, no… Sig! Does Heichou know you're here!?" Eren panicked as it suddenly dawned on him that the two of them were very well alive, "Oh, shit, please Sigfreid, stop knocking everything over, Jean is gonna kill me!"

Sigfreid continued to bounce around and made herself comfortable in Jean's upper bunk bed, opposite Eren, though it took some scrambling. In a panic, Eren then forced himself to sit up, the blankets falling from his chest to reveal himself in his pyjamas. His left arm was in a secure sling and he could feel bandages wrapped around his torso and head. When he went to move his legs, however, Eren stopped. There was a significant difference he could feel in one of them, now that he realised it, and he had to swallow before pulling the covers away entirely. Sigfreid dismounted from Jean's bed and approached Eren with concern. She watched as Eren slowly swung a single, prosthetic leg that came up to just under his knee, over the side, followed by, thankfully, his fully intact right leg. It was the strangest prosthetic Eren had ever seen as his was mostly made up of metal joints and springs, ending in a very small, metal foot that looked more like a… He couldn't find the words. Sigfreid sniffed it, recognising that it was not Eren's true leg and looked up at him to see how he felt about it.

"…"

Eren looked downright distraught about it; his teal eyes were wide and pained and his thick brows were furrowed in confusion and worry. His lips were ajar and turned down and Sigfreid could clearly see and hear his breathing become more erratic. In response to her rider's fear, the dragon pressed her snout into Eren's chest, and he promptly wrapped his unbroken arm around her head, holding her close. As the young soldier came to terms with his disability, Eren combed his fingers through Sigfreid's fur and feathers over, and over, until his heart rate returned to normal, allowing him to think rationally again. Losing a leg was a huge shock to get over, and Eren buried his face into Sigfreid's fur to cope. It was not until then did he realise that his dragon too, was covered in bandages. They were in various places like her legs, waist, tail and even her neck. On her fore right leg and hind left leg, she wore compression wraps, probably to help soothe sprained muscles. One of her wings was even bound close to her body and a splint could be seen under the bindings. She looked almost as beaten up as he did. Which begged the question, how was she able to bounce around like that?

With a deep breath, Eren sat up straight and held Sigfreid's lower jaw in his hand, "Well, at least I have my knee," he said, forcing himself to see the bright side.

Sigfreid looked up at Eren softly, her gaze encouraging and reassuring. Eren then released the dragon and looked around for a way down.

"… Why the Hell did they put me in a bunk?" He muttered, annoyed. He sighed, "Help me out, Sig,"

Cautiously, Eren placed his foot and… piece of metal on the first step of the ladder and, taking a breath to steady himself, put his weight down. Success. He then moved his right leg to the next step, slowly, when his prosthetic slipped and Eren tumbled down.

"Gyaah!" He gasped, bracing himself for the impact.

But none came as Sigfreid caught Eren, allowing him to land on her head, and then lowered him down, much like when Armin had slipped on that rock all those months ago. Eren gripped onto Sigfreid's head tightly, his eyes scrunched shut until he could feel his dangling feet touch the wooden floor to his room. Standing up straight, Eren rubbed Sigfreid's ears affectionately, resulting in the beast purring with content.

"Thanks, Sig," he murmured to her.

The dragon hummed in response. She waited until Eren was ready to attempt standing by himself, and when he did, there was a flicker of self-satisfaction in his eyes when he found standing easy enough. With what little space she had, Sigfreid moved away from Eren, but remained close enough, should he reach out for her. The boy took several deep breaths, preparing himself for his first step without his left leg. Eren put the prosthetic forward, and upon hearing the springs squeak, quickly looked up at Sigfreid, admittedly scared. But Sigfreid only breathed calmly and reassured Eren that he was going to be alright, just by watching him with large, gentle eyes.

"… Okay, Sig, okay…" Eren breathed again, and put his full weight on the metal foot.

When he didn't come crashing down, Eren took another step, and another, watching his feet carefully, his free hand constantly outstretched as they balanced him. When he suddenly felt Sigfreid's warm, velvety muzzle make contact with his fingertips, Eren looked up to see that he had already crossed the room and reached the door. With a small, nervous laugh, Eren stood straight and scratched Sigfreid's nose.

"Thanks, girl,"

With his dragon beside him for support, Eren opened the door and ventured out into the corridor. It was empty but as clean as ever, he noted. He could also faintly hear loud voices outside. Curious as to what was going on, Eren beckoned Sigfreid to follow, and he hobbled down, through the quarters, until he came to the front doors. Eren slowly opened the door, blinking from the violent sunstrike. The moment his eyes focused, however, Eren slammed the door shut on a very large, grey-toned Lethal Falka, which roared so loud that Eren thought his ears might burst. His heart hammered in his chest as he pressed his back against the door. He stared at Sigfreid with wide, panicked eyes.

"Did… Did the dragons get out or something!?"

Instead of answering with a simple gesture, Sigfreid pushed past Eren, and opened the door herself, which had a simple enough mechanism for her to do so.

"Sig!? What are you doing? Stop that!"

As Sigfreid opened the doors and stepped through, Eren became unbalanced and fell, smacking his knee painfully onto the floor. After a moment of gritting his teeth from the pain, he heard his dragon call for him (it strangely sounded a lot like she really was saying 'Eren') and looked up to see the most remarkable scene unfurl before him. Beyond Sigfreid was the military base of the Isle of Maria, bright and as beautiful as ever with one simple addition: free roaming dragons. Not only that, but every single soldier visible to Eren was peacefully coexisting with them, walking or jogging alongside them, even riding them!

"Wh… What the-?" Eren breathed, his teal eyes fixated on the outside world.

The Falka saw that not only was Eren rather disabled on the floor, he was also too dumbstruck to even remember what had happened. Sigfreid returned to her rider and nudged his good arm gently. Registering this, Eren rested the weight of his arm on top of her head, and allowed her to help lift him back onto his feet.

"When did this happen?" He asked her as she escorted him down the few steps from the porch. His eyes looked up to the sky where he could see soldiers riding the dragons in formation, just like when they practiced marches after joining the military.

Sigfreid gave him a look that seemed to say "Shortly after you 'died' fighting the Dragon Titan".

"So… We won?"

Sigfreid's answer was a small, tender lick to Eren's bruised cheek, to which he responded by nuzzling back.

"I never doubted you."

Their moment, however, was interrupted when a familiar voice called out to everyone within ear-shot.

"Hey! It's Eren!" Armin cried from the back of the caramel Velx he rode into battle, "He's awake, everyone!"

The moment Armin finished his sentence, he and dozens of other soldiers and dragons rushed up to where Eren and Sigfreid stood, crowding around him but being careful to give them space. They all cheered for the boy and his dragon, applauding and congratulating them for their unbelievable success. Eren could see everyone; Armin, Jean, Marco, Connie, Sasha, and…

"Mikasa!" Eren exclaimed, seeing his sister emerge from the crowd.

"Eren!" She called back, rushing forward and pausing just before him to allow Eren to hug her first so as not to hurt him.

Eren wrapped his free arm around Mikasa's shoulders and pulled her close, the girl enveloping him in her own arms as gently as she could.

"I can't believe you're alive…" She choked back tears, trying to stay tough in front of the other cadets, "I'm so happy you came back…"

"You fought hard to keep me alive, Mikasa." Eren spoke clearly, pulling away but leaving his hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for fighting so hard for me."

But even _this_ moment wasn't safe from interruption, as their attention was drawn to someone making a 'Tch' sound, and they turned to see Commander Erwin flanked by Lance Corporal Levi and Major Hanji. While everyone made the usual salute to greet them, Eren was left to make a half attempt, what with his broken left arm.

"I hope you have realised what you have done, Jaeger." Erwin spoke sternly, his cold blue gaze making Eren feel small, despite actually being smaller compared to him.

The boy's mind went blank, "Uhh… No?"

Erwin's unreadable face was taken over by a warm, proud smile as he rested his enormous hand on Eren's shoulder and gave a small squeeze, "You saved Maria from annihilation, Jaeger. And brought peace between the humans and dragons who live here. And for that," he saluted to the boy, "I, Commander of the Guardians of Maria and the Wings of Freedom, thank you."

"And forgive us for the way you and your friends have been treated, even your feathered ones," Hanji added with a wink.

Eren felt himself begin to choke up, "Commander… Guys…" He looked around at all the smiling faces. He had never seen such happiness before in anyone, "Thanks for giving me the chance." He then grabbed Armin and pulled him close to his side, "Thanks for giving _us_ the chance!"

"Geeze, Jaeger, I didn't know you even _had _feelings!" Jean teased, scratching the chin of the grey toned Lethal Falka he seemed to have adopted. Eren later learned that Jean named the dragon Tybalt.

"Eren," someone spoke from Erwin's side. It was Levi, with a face that could be mistaken for expressing remorse, "I would like to apologise personally for my unforgivable treatment to you and your partner."

"It's okay, Levi." Eren spoke gently, "You were just scared, like everyone else."

"Okay, don't rub it in," Levi scowled, "I just wanted to announce to you that due to your outstanding performance two weeks ago-"

"_Two weeks!?"_ Eren exclaimed.

"_Let me finish!_" Levi hissed, "… And for your immeasurable bravery that unlocked the next step for mankind's survival, and for humans and dragons to coexist," he handed to Eren a neatly folded military jacket. On the back, was the beautiful embroidery of the white and blue Wings of Freedom, "you have earned the right and honour of becoming the Wings of Freedom, and leading humanity to victory and glory."

Eren was rather speechless as he stared down at the new jacket being presented to him, "Heichou… I…"

"Just take it, Jaeger, I've got to give Armin and the other's theirs," Levi said, deadpanned.

"Ah! Yessir!" Eren said, quickly taking the clothing in one hand and holding it close to his chest.

Sigfreid peeked over his shoulder to look at his new gift and sniffed it. Eren showed it to her, grinning from ear to ear. His dragon looked on inquisitively, and then opened her own free wing, gesturing to it.

"You were always my Wings of Freedom, Sig." Eren said, nudging her with his shoulder, "You freed me first."

Levi had now presented Armin's own jacket to him, "If it weren't for your persistent motivation and incredible knowledge of both dragons and engineering, Jaeger would never have left the ground."

"Thank you, Sir," Armin nodded.

Levi then presented new jackets to Mikasa, Jean, Marco, Connie and Sasha, and congratulated them on their incredible bravery during the battle of the Dragon Titan. Eren noticed that each of his comrades had a dragon standing beside or behind them, and upon further inspection, like Jean and Armin, they were dragons they rode on that fateful day. It warmed Eren to see how much they had already bonded with their dragons. Once all the jackets were handed out and on the backs (or in Eren's case, his shoulders) of the new Wings of Freedom, Armin announced himself, that he had something for Eren. With the help of Mikasa, they presented to Eren a new saddle for Sigfreid, complete with straps and a new tail wing. It was a rich dark brown of fine quality leather that shined in the light. It seemed to match the dark brown feathers on Sigfreid's wings and feet. Eren noted that the tail wing was a rich blue, just like the left wing on the Wings of Freedom emblem, which, coincidentally, was also on Sigfreid's left. As for the stirrup, the right was as ordinary as ever, aside from the quality, but the left was something of a different matter. Eren had never seen so many pieces of shiny metal in one small space before. It reminded him of his… prosthetic foot.

"The blue wing was Jean's idea," Mikasa explained, making said boy blush.

"Guys… It's…" Eren started.

"It's an early present, to be honest." Marco said, smiling, his hand deep in the fur of his Laural.

"Yeah!" Connie added, trying to keep his Nevita Incit from rubbing its muzzle onto his shaved head, "Neither of you can fly with limbs like that!"

"For once, Springer is right," Levi said, his arms folded, "and to make sure you two don't fly too soon and break something permanently, you're banned from flying for another three weeks."

"But, Heichou!" Eren protested.

"Yes?" Levi said confidently.

Eren realised that he really had nothing to say, "… Yessir."

Sigfreid on the other hand, did have something to say, and began snorting and whining like a child throwing a tantrum. Once she realised that it wasn't going to make Levi change his mind, she quietened down also.

"In the meantime, you two rest up," Erwin said, preparing to depart, "you have full time leave until you're both recovered, understand?"

Eren partially saluted again, a wide grin on his face, "Yessir!"

With that, Erwin smiled and left, Hanji and Levi following closely behind him. Once the attention was back on Eren, the boy, still grinning, looked at everyone else.

"Is it lunch time? Because I'm starving!"

"So whose idea was it to put me in my bunk?" Eren asked accusingly.

"… The Commander's," Armin admitted.

Eren shook his head, "He weirds me out sometimes."

"Like the time he wouldn't tell anyone about the plan of attack for a mission on the mainland?" Mikasa suggested.

"And then no one actually died." Armin finished.

It was true, the Commander was known for his… Hidden motives and unpredictable ways. Eren's right hand was flicking between feeding himself and giving Sigfreid attention which she demanded. It seemed that she had missed him massively for the full two weeks he had been out. The Grand Hall was the busiest Eren had ever seen it, as what space was left by the soldiers was filled by their winged companions. Armin said that when they returned back to the Island, they had invited the dragons from the barren Dragon Nest to come and they had immediately made themselves at home.

"Not only that," Armin said with excitement, "but once they were all settled, people started making friends with the dragons and forming partnerships, even the townspeople!"

_That explains why there were soldiers flying around on dragons and cuddling them like puppies,_ Eren thought.

"It's like a paradise…" Eren murmured.

"Not only that, Eren," Mikasa spoke, "but Armin was also able to explain the dragons' ability to assist in titan killing."

Eren looked down at Sigfreid who was lying behind him and resting her head on his lap, and had snaked her neck around his waist to do so. Her eyes were closed as she dozed off, enjoying the feeling of Eren's fingers combing through her fur and feathers.

"… We did good, Sig."

The sky hadn't looked this bright since Eren first flew on Sigfreid. Now it felt just like the first time, and they weren't even airborne, yet. Eren sat securely, yet nervously in the shiny, new saddle, but had left his left leg to hang out of the metal stirrup that was to fit his prosthetic and somehow (Armin and Hanji's intellect was scary sometimes) still control the leather tail wing.

"You'll be fine, Eren." Armin said from his right, astride the Velx he had christened Jaye who stood a little shorter than Sigfreid.

Despite Jaye being an excitable dragon, eager and very skilled, he had little idea how to use his abilities to the fullest. But with Armin to guide him, the two worked together like a dream.

"You have practiced before and got the basics down," Mikasa added, upon her own dragon, the Deadly Evonna, who stood considerably shorter than both Sigfreid and Jaye, "so what are you waiting for?"

Mikasa had named her dragon Kydra and she was as reckless as Eren was at times, using her abilities to the max whenever she could and going completely overkill. It would be thought that Kydra was impossible to train, except Mikasa had the capacity to do so, taking it like a challenge and refining her dragon to attack conservatively. Jay, Kydra, and every other riding dragon on the island had been fitted with custom made saddles, thanks to Armin and Hanji.

Eren thought for a moment. There really wasn't a reason for him to not put his goddamn prosthetic in the stirrup and fly to the heavens. So he smiled.

"… Maybe I'm worried that if I fly now, I won't ever want to come back down."

With a swift and secure click, Eren slotted his metal foot into the stirrup and tested it. He looked back to see the blue tail wing flex smoothly without a single squeak. Returning to face the front, he was met with Sigfreid's bright gaze, her teeth bared in a grin that only a dragon could pull.

"You ready?" Eren asked, his heart already hammering. He could even feel the dragon's muscles under his legs twitch in anticipation.

The second Eren leaned forward, Sigfreid leaped, launching herself into the air and snapping open her golden wings that flashed in the sunlight. With a powerful beat, Sigfreid climbed higher and gained speed as she took Eren into the sky. Her blue tail wing filled with air and worked like an extension of herself. With a flex of his leg, Eren guided Sigfreid into a sharp dip, dropping down into the military base below. Closely followed by Mikasa and Armin, Eren and Sigfreid shot through the facilities, getting so close to the ground, dust was kicked up behind them. They rocketed past the senior's quarters, making the windowsill to Erwin's office rattle from the gale force winds. Sigfreid twisted and corkscrewed around the buildings and bounded over them before taking off again. They were soon joined by Connie and Sasha who pulled off more stupid stunts rather than anything skilled. Shardis growled as he picked up his papers from the ground. Climbing up again, Eren had Sigfreid dive into the town below. The dragons whistled in joy as they felt their hearts soar with their riders upon their backs. Eren was in the moment; he didn't even notice Marco and Jean join in on the chase. Was it even a chase? Eren couldn't even remember. He was so high up now.

It was just him and Sigfreid soaring to the heavens.

The End.


End file.
